Sensei
by SirJoshizzle
Summary: To whoever said a relationship between a teacher and his student is wrong, these two obviously didn't get the memo. Present AU, High School, Link x Zelda.
1. New Teacher

* * *

Start time: November 22, 2006; 6:17 PM

* * *

So this is my very first Zelda fic, so I suppose that's something to be pretty proud of. My brother's playing Twilight Princess on the Wii as I type- jes' thought I'd tell you. Anyway, like I do with all my other stories, I'll provide a little summary, just in case the provided summary on the main page isn't enough.

The story is Alternate Universe, just so you know. This is a modern 21st century Hyrule, and in later chapters, I go into detailed description about it. Zelda isn't the princess who needs to be saved every damn time a Zelda game comes up, Link isn't the Hero of Time we've grown to learn, Ganondorf isn't the King of Evil, etc. Also, if you don't like this sort of thing, there is some OOC-ness to be found. Fair warning, so if you're chapter one million- which I'm not saying there will be, don't come crying to me in a review when you find out Ganondorf is cross dressing in a pink minidress, singing "Unbreak My Heart" into a hairbrush- which I'm not saying will happen. But you never know, right? Oh yeah, Ruto takes the role as the dumb blonde, even though she's blue.

Zelda, sixteen, is an ordinary teenage girl in high school; she drives, she shops, and she has her "times of the month." But after her Ancient Hylian History teacher goes on sick leave, it gets harder to focus on her schoolwork after a rather handsome young man takes over the class for a week, and much to Zelda's dismay, she develops some romantic sentiments for this gentleman. But what's wrong with a little schoolgirl crush? There's nothing wrong with a student-to-teacher relationship… right?

I hope that summary will suffice, at least for now. I make very nuanced references to many of the Legend of Zelda manga and games except Twilight Princess for the sake of those who have yet to play it. They're rather well hidden, but you'll know what they are when you find them. I also combine many of the Legend of Zelda worlds together to make one giant universe (Hyrule, Termina, Holodrum, Labrynna, Kohoint Island, Great Sea, etc), and I try to incorporate many of the different characters that have been introduced in the games. Anyway, to get the damn disclaimer out of the way, The Legend if Zelda is the sole property of Nintendo Company, Limited as well as all characters and registered trademarks. Restrictions apply, results may vary.

* * *

Sensei  
Sir Joshizzle

'_Damn!'_

Zelda Harkinian dashed down the halls of Hyrule High, trying to make it to her Ancient Hylian History class before the late bell rang. She woke up thirty minutes late again, and had only less than a minute to get to her first period class, and she was only down the main hallway, and had to climb two flights of stairs. Luckily, the classroom was at the front of the school, and was already almost half the way there.

'_I'm gonna be late- _again! _Madame Din absolutely _hates_ tardy students, and everyone knows how loud she gets whenever someone is late.'_

Zelda practically sprinted up the staircase. It's a good thing that the class is just at the top.

Just as the bell rang, Zelda made it into the classroom, terribly out of breath and tired looking; she still had a few tangled knots in her hair, and there were some wrinkles in her shirt.

"Zel!" a female voice called.

Zelda looked up and saw her best friend, Malon smiling at her, motioning for her to sit next to her.

Zelda made her way through the kids who were still standing mid-conversation, taking her seat next to the red head.

Malon Adame has been Zelda's friend since third grade, though they've known each other long before then. She has apple red hair, and it is lightly scented with a fresh Roman Apple aroma due to her hobby to pick apples. Her father owns Lon Lon Ranch, a farm in the heart of Hyrule Field, and Malon is the fifth generation in the family ranching business. Once her father, Talon, passes away, she's slated to become the next owner of Lon Lon Ranch.

"So you overslept again?" Malon asked, giggling, handing Zelda a hairbrush.

Zelda nodded in reply, taking the brush from her. "I don't know what happened! I set my alarm last night…"

"What time?" Malon asked again.

"Five forty-five. That should be more than enough time to take a shower, get dressed, eat, and be out the door with at least fifteen minutes before first period… The first bell doesn't ring until seven fifteen, right?" Zelda wondered, smoothing out the knots from her hair.

Malon raised an eyebrow and leaned her elbow on the desk with her hand supporting her head. "Five forty-five AM?"

Zelda stopped brushing momentarily and turned to her. "What?" she asked with the brush still in her hair.

"Did you set it to five forty-five AM?"

Zelda tried to remember back to last night, when she remembered that she forgot to set the time convention to AM.

"Oops…" Zelda mumbled dismally.

Malon chuckled softly. "I thought as much. Just be glad that Madame Din is late as well."

Zelda nodded and ran he brush through her hair one more time and handed it back to Malon. "Thanks."

"Sure," Malon replied and put it back in her backpack and zipped the pocket back up.

A few moments later, the door opened, and almost instantaneously everyone who was standing took a seat. But instead of being Madame Din to walk into the class, it was Principal Rauru Sayje.

Principal Rauru has been the principal at Hyrule High for more than fifteen years, and has been in the education field for more than twice that length of time. He's a particularly round man in is late fifties, and has a large bald spot on the top of his head. He has a bushy grey moustache, and a deep, booming voice.

"Good morning class," Rauru greeted.

"Good morning, Sir." The class replied in unison.

"Your teacher, Madame Din will be out for this week due to a severe case of laryngitis. Apparently, she has been yelling and shouting due to some constant tardy students…" Rauru explained, quickly glancing at Zelda. Zelda saw him take a quick look at her and blushed sheepishly.

"So, anyway, you'll have a substitute teacher to take her place."

Everyone in the class suddenly began cheering loudly.

"HEY!" Rauru bellowed. The class immediately simmered down to complete silence.

"This substitute was a student at this school, and he knows perfectly well what to do should you begin to act out of turn: he'll send you immediately to my office."

A few students began to sweat nervously; Rauru was infamous for his swift and sometimes cruel and unusual punishments.

Rauru cleared his throat quickly. "Anyway, his name is Link Avalon." Rauru motioned for someone from out in the hall to come in. "Mr. Avalon, you can come in now."

A few seconds later, a man with flaxen blonde hair and a lopsided smile came into the classroom, softly closing the door behind him.

He had ocean blue eyes and sun tanned skin. He had a rather muscular build, with strong arms and legs. He was wearing a green Quiksilver logo shirt, a black strapped Dickies analog watch, brown Billabong plaid board shorts, and brown plaid Vans slip-ons. His blonde hair was unruly but at the same time rather well kept.

A few girls in the class started to giggle and blush as he smiled warmly at them, including Malon, while many of the guys glared at him with disapproval, as if jealous of his good looks and that their girlfriends were practically swooning over him. Zelda had to admit, he did look rather charming, and just by judging from his clothes, you couldn't be able to tell him apart from the other students at the school; she was expecting some old man in this forties.

Rauru bowed slightly to Link. "Mr. Avalon, the floor is yours." Rauru proceeded to leave the classroom.

"Thank you, sir," Link called out to him just before he left the room and closed the door.

Link turned to the class and scanned all the students. He sighed and clapped his hands together and rocked back and forth on his heels and toes. "Well then…" He walked behind the desk and wrote on the white board with a black marker on the bold tip, "Mr. Avalon" in neat writing.

"I should start out by introducing myself." He started. He made his way to the front of the teacher's desk and leaned on it, facing the class. "I'm Link Avalon, but you guys can call me 'Link' if you want, I don't mind. I'm twenty-seven years old, and like Mr. Sayje said, I was a student here at Hyrule High. I graduated Class of 1999, and I attended the University of Hyrule for four years and got my teaching credential in Hylian History. I usually do student teaching at Kakariko Middle School, and since I'm friends with Rauru, he called me in to substitute for Madame Din, and well… here I am…" He raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Any questions?"

A girl in the middle of the room raised her hand.

Link motioned for her to speak. "Miss?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked boldly. All the girls leaned in and started to 'Oooh.'

Link chuckled and shook his head. "No, I don't. I've been single since I graduated college."

One of the guys leaned over to his friend and whispered in his ear. "I bet he's gay…"

"Yeah," his friend whispered back. "He even has his ears pierced."

Link turned to the two boys. "I like girls just fine, thank you." Obviously, Link overheard their conversation, which to the two boys' shock, since they whispered it so quietly that only each other could hear.

"The earrings are part of an ancient Sheikah rite of passage for men." Link added.

Both they two male students blushed and sunk into their chairs, while the rest of the class laughed at them.

"Are you a Sheikah?" A girl asked over the laughing.

Link shook his head. "No, it was my seventeenth birthday present from my friend's parents who are Sheikah."

A male raised his hand as the laughter died down. "Are you gonna give us homework?"

Link sighed and thought about it. "Since Madame Din was _my_ history teacher when I was a Junior, and I know how she piles bus loads of homework on her students, I decided I'd give you guys a break."

The class cheered and smiled.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not giving out _any_ work!" he added quickly. "Maybe just reading from the textbook and some worksheets and that's about it."

Link rubbed his hands together. "I think that's enough for now. Now, everyone take your books out…"

As everyone pulled out their books from their backpacks, Link walked over behind the desk and pulled out a teacher's textbook from a drawer.

"Can someone tell me where you guys left off on Friday?" He asked and as he opened the book and leaned on the desk with his hands supporting him.

Silence.

Link looked up at the class and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you all fling your arms out at once…" He said sarcastically.

He grabbed a manila folder from his backpack. "Okay then…" He opened it and scanned the paper inside it. "…Zelda, is it? Are you here?"

Zelda looked up in reply with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Link heard her soft voice and turned to her. Their eyes locked on each other; Link's sky blue to Zelda's sparkling violet.

"Are you Zelda?" Link asked.

Zelda nodded timidly. "Yes, Sir."

"Can you tell me where you all left off last Friday?" He repeated.

"Umm… the history of the Triforce, Sir."

"Thank you, Zelda. Oh, and please don't call me 'Sir.' Call me 'Link,' 'Mr. Avalon,' or whatever- anything but 'Sir.' That makes me feel old."

The class chuckled. Zelda giggled softly. "Okay… Link."

He smiled warmly at her. "That's better. Now, the Triforce is said to be kept in a world that parallels Hyrule known as The Sacred Realm. As we all know, it is comprised of three sub-Triforces. Who knows one of them?"

No one answered. "Aww, come on now," Link sighed. "No one?"

Malon raised her hand. Link's face lit up when he saw her hand go up.

"Yes, err… I'm sorry; I don't know your name." Link spoke.

"Malon," she replied.

"Malon," he repeated. "That's a beautiful name," he complimented, to which Malon blushed slightly. "Can you tell the class the three parts of the Triforce?"

Malon nodded. "The Triforce of Power, Wisdom, and Courage."

Link nodded and grinned exuberantly. "Yes, thank you! The Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage. Each represents one of the three Goddesses: Power representing Din, Courage representing Farore, and Wisdom representing Nayru."

Link set the book on the desk and picked up three markers: one red, one blue, and one green. He drew three triangles arranged in the shape of the Triforce. He colored the top red, the left green, and the right blue.

Link continued with his lecture, but Zelda couldn't focus. She was too preoccupied with Link. She studied his body very closely. She examined every muscle on his arms, every golden lock on his head, the way his torso muscles were outlined through his shirt, his pearl white teeth and carefree smile, his arrestingly masculine voice, and most of all his deep, cerulean eyes.

'_No! Don't look at him!'_ The voice in her head mentally slapped her. _'He's your teacher! _TEACHER. _You've lost your mind if you even _think_ you have a chance with him!'_

Just then, the bell rang.

Link stopped mid-sentence and looked at the clock. "Eight twenty-five already?" He looked back at the class, who was getting their backpacks ready for their next class. "Hold on, everyone! Your homework tonight is to review the section; you have a quiz on the Triforce tomorrow!"

"Bye, Link!" Many of the class called as they exited the room.

"Bye, guys. Have a nice day!" Link called as he erased his Triforce diagram and prepped for the next period.

11:34 AM: LUNCH- QUAD

Zelda and Malon, along with their friends Saria, Ruto, and Nabooru, were sitting at a table together under a tree, talking about their morning classes.

"Have you guys had history, yet?" Ruto asked the other girls. Zelda, Malon, and Saria all nodded.

"Why?" Nabooru asked as she peeled the cover off her ramen cup.

Ruto gasped in surprise. "The substitute there is _HOT!_"

"For Madame Din?" Nabooru asked again.

Saria nodded. "His name is Link Avalon."

Nabooru ate a spoonful of noodles. "What does he look like?"

"Hi, girls," a manly voice spoke.

The five of them looked up to see Link standing over them, smiling.

"Hi Link," Malon, Saria, and Ruto greeted girlishly.

"Having a good lunch?" he asked.

The five of them all nodded in reply.

"That's nice. Well, make sure you guys study tonight." Link told them, and with that, he walked away towards the teacher's lounge.

Malon turned to Nabooru. "He looks like _that_."

"Sweet Nayru saves the world!" Nabooru exclaimed in shock.

"Hey Zel, why are you all quiet?" Ruto asked the blonde. With that, the other three turned to her.

Zelda looked up to them from her food. "Huh?" She asked stupidly.

"You barely touched your food," Saria pointed out. Zelda looked at her salad, and it looked exactly the way it did when she bought it.

Ruto gasped. "Are you turning anorexic!?"

Nabooru elbowed her in the side at that.

"Ow!" Ruto yelped and glared at the Gerudo.

Zelda smiled and shook her head. "No, Ruto, I'm not turning anorexic."

"Well what's bothering you?" Nabooru inquired.

"I know," Malon spoke up. They all looked to her. "Looks like little Zelda has a crush on a certain blonde substitute."

Ruto inhaled sharply. "Who!?"

Malon stared at her stupidly. "Link!"

"Oh…"

"No, I don't have a crush on Link," Zelda retorted.

Saria and Nabooru eyed Zelda with narrow eyes, smiling slyly. "If you say so…" They both spoke in unison in a sing-song tone.

"I don't!" Zelda defended.

"We believe you!" Malon replied with her hands up in a defensive manner.

Zelda looked down at her salad. _'I don't… right?'_

12:16 PM: FIFTH PERIOD- PE; GYMNASIUM

Zelda served the volleyball and hit it straight over the net with a loud grunt.

The two female teams volleyed the ball back and forth over the net, while Zelda tied her blonde hair into a ponytail.

The ball was headed in Zelda's direction. It was about to hit her, but she finished tying her hair just in time to spike it hard over the net.

None of the girls on the other team was fast enough to save the ball so it hit the ground just before Anju, one of Malon's friends could hit it.

"Good job, Zelda!" Their coach, Coach Darunia, encouraged.

Zelda smiled at him. "Thanks coach!"

"Zel, look out!" Saria called from the other side of the net.

Zelda looked back in confusion. "Huh?"

She looked up saw the ball hurling towards her, her eyes widening in terror like a dear caught in headlights. Before she could get out of the way, the ball hit her straight in the face, causing her to falll back, hitting the ground head first. She yelped sharply, and before she could do anything else, she was knocked out.

Yet, she could hear distant voices.

"Quick! Get this girl to the nurse's office!"

And just like that, everything turned pitch black.

1:21 PM: NURSE'S OFFICE

Zelda slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was slightly blurred, so she rubbed her eyes to see more clearly. She felt something on her head. She raised her hand to feel what it was, and found out it was an ice pack. She looked around and saw a young man across the room talking to a nurse.

"Can I have 120 copies of this, please?" He asked politely.

"Sure thing, Mr. Avalon." The nurse replied happily and walked over to the copy machine to the left of Zelda.

"Link?" Zelda spoke softly, but loud enough for Link and the nurse to hear.

The two of them looked at Zelda. Link gasped in shock and hurried over to Zelda's bedside. "Zelda? What happened?"

"Volleyball," the nurse spoke up. "That's what happened. Turns out that she was knocked in the head with a volleyball and hit her head on the floor," she explained as she turned the copy machine on.

Link seethed through his teeth quietly. "Will she be alright?"

"She should be," the nurse replied. She walked over to Zelda and felt a bump on her forehead. "It's just a bruise. Nothing to really worry about."

Link smiled at Zelda as their eyes locked again. "That's good."

"What are you doing here?" Zelda asked him, furrowing her brows.

"Oh… Just making copies for the quiz tomorrow."

Zelda nodded and looked at the ceiling.

"Promise me that you'll be more careful next time?" Link asked.

Zelda smiled and nodded. "Okay."

"Wear a helmet… and knee and shin guards… and bubble wrap." Link continued jokingly.

Zelda laughed at the last part. "'Bubble wrap'?" She repeated.

Link rested his hand on her shoulder. "I'm kidding."

"Here you are, Mr. Avalon," the nurse spoke up, handing him a stack of papers. "One hundred twenty copies."

"Thank you very much, miss." Link responded, taking the pile of papers in his hands.

"You're welcome," the nurse replied, smiling at him.

Link made his way out the door, but before he left, he looked back at Zelda. "Get better soon."

Zelda nodded and inhaled deeply. "What time is it, ma'am?" Zelda asked the nurse.

She checked her watch. "A little after one thirty. You should be ready to go in a little bit; six period started a few minutes ago."

Zelda nodded and the nurse walked into her office to write the girl a hall pass. She looked out the window to see Link walking across the quad toward the front of the school to the classroom.

'_It's not a crush…_

…_is it?'_

* * *

Review, please.

* * *

End time: November 22, 2006; 11:20 PM

* * *


	2. What a Guy Will do for a Girl

* * *

Start time: November 24, 2006; 9:35 AM, PST

* * *

So here's chapter two. A very inquisitive reader noticed a few, shall I say, "Unintentional crossovers," and was nice enough to notify me about it in a review. Everything has been changed, so don't sweat it. Anyway, here we go.

* * *

"Is something bothering you, Zelda?"

Zelda looked up from her plate to see her mother staring at her with concern in her eyes.

Since Zelda came home from school, she _has_ been acting rather awkwardly: she wasn't talking much, and she started spacing out as if she were daydreaming.

For her mother's sake, Zelda tried her best to but on a façade of happiness and attempted to smile her widest.

"No, mother. I'm fine, thank you."

Her mom raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You haven't said anything since you got home. Plus, you've hardly eaten anything. You're not hungry?"

Zelda looked down at her plate, which was laden with golden corn, blueberries, white agar jellies, and a Caesar salad on the side.

"No, I'm starved!" Zelda lied, and began to literally stuff the salad leaves into her mouth. She looked over to the corn, berries, and jellies and they created an illusion of a face: the corn became flaxes hair, the agar Jell-O took shape of white, shining teeth, and the blueberries turned into blue eyes. Her mind put the shapes together and created an image of Link's visage on her plate.

She could hear the image talk to her.

"_Hey Zelda, how y'doin?"_ It asked as it winked back at her.

Zelda turned a sickly greenish color and set her fork back down on the plate and pushed it aside.

"On second thought… I don't think I'm as hungry as I thought." Zelda mumbled.

"Okay then," her mom replied, and continued to consume her dinner.

Zelda looked back up at her food and the image of Link's face once again appeared.

"_We should go out sometime!"_ It exclaimed.

Zelda growled and she picked up her fork and stabbed at the food angrily, rearranged all the items on her plate to the point that it looked not so much as a face, but rather a meaningless pile of produce.

She looked up to see her parents staring at her strangely, frozen in their tracks. They looked as if they were about to take a bite from the food on their forks, but someone pointed a remote control at them and pressed 'pause.' Zelda gently placed the silverware on the plate and folded her hands on her lap.

Her parents looked away from her and continued to eat.

"May I be excused?" Zelda finally spoke. "I uh… have some studying to do. I have a history test tomorrow."

Before anyone else could say anything, Zelda got up from her seat and quickly headed for the stairs.

"Zelda," her dad called after her. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face her father. "Yes, dad?"

"Don't… Study _too_ hard…" He instructed in a rather worried tone.

Zelda put on a smile and nodded. "I won't."

And with that, she left the room and headed up the stairs.

---

Zelda opened her bedroom door and softly closed it behind her. All of a sudden, she heard a loud beeping coming from her nightstand. Zelda jumped in shock and turned around to see her alarm clock blinking the time.

"5:45 PM," it read in gold, digital numbering.

She narrowed her eyes at the clock in frustration and grabbed a full water bottle from her desk, and she hurled it towards the clock with all her might. The clock fell off the nightstand and it the ground with a loud 'thud,' dead.

"Damn clock…" she muttered wryly.

Zelda sighed in exhaustion and collapsed on her bed face-first. She buried her head in her pillow and recalled the day's events.

'_Good thing he's only substituting for this week. Four more days can't kill me…'_

She inhaled deeply and turned her head to the wall next to her bed, and examined the patterns in the wall's design. She noticed a male profile in the wall, and it turned out to be Link's.

She screamed softly in irritation and threw her pillow at the hall.

"Everywhere I look, there he is!" She yelled in aggravation.

"Who is?" a soft voice spoke from behind her.

Zelda whirled around to see her mother standing in the open door frame.

"Who are you talking about?" She asked her daughter.

Zelda exhaled and sat up on the mattress cross-legged. "Oh… No one," she lied.

Her mom smiled smartly and crossed her arms. "You sure are making a fuss over 'no one'," she retorted.

Zelda fell silent.

"Is it a boy?" Her mom asked.

"…I guess you can say that…" Zelda admitted after a few seconds of silence.

Her mom walked over to the bedside and took a seat next to Zelda.

"Is he cute?"

Zelda smiled stupidly at that. "Yes… I really like him a lot, but I can't tell him," she gushed.

"Is he older than you are?" her mom asked again.

Zelda blushed. There's no way she could tell anyone- much less her own mother- that she was madly in love with a teacher who's eleven years her senior.

"I guess you can say that…" Zelda replied.

"Well, I think you should take a risk and tell the boy how you feel. What harm can you do?" her mom suggested.

Zelda sighed exasperatedly and threw her head back so that she was looking at the ceiling. "It's pretty complicated. The age difference between us is a very large margin…"

"Oh come on, Zel. He can't be as old as you're making him out to be." Her mom complained.

Zelda rolled her eyes quickly. _'Older than you know, mother.'_

After a pause between the two ladies, Zelda's mom spoke up.

"Look, Zel… All I'm saying is… Well, sometimes you have to take a risk on these things. You'll never know what will happen if you don't try. What's life without taking chances?" she reasoned.

Zelda pondered that for a second. "I guess you have a point."

"I'm not saying this just to make you feel better," her mom continued. "I'm saying it out of experience. When I was your age, there were tons of boys I had crushes on, but I never had the courage to tell them…" She paused. "That's how I ended up with your father," she joked.

Zelda giggled at the last part. "You're bad," she scolded her mom playfully and pushed her lightly.

"Well, the bottom line Zelda is that if you don't take a chance, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering about what could have been."

Zelda fell silent and thought about what her mom said.

"Think about it Zelda." Her mom encouraged. She got off the bed and dusted off her skirt. "Well, I'm going to turn in early; I have a little headache." She pointed to her temple to show where her headache was coming from.

"Okay mom. Goodnight," Zelda spoke softly.

Her mom pecked her on the forehead and headed for the door. "Study tonight, Zel; you have that test tomorrow."

Just before she closed the door, Zelda stopped her. "Mom?"

She turned around to face her daughter. "Yes?"

Zelda smiled at her. "Thank you."

Her mom smiled in reply. "You're welcome." And with that, she closed the door.

Zelda paused in place for a little bit, and finally got off her bed. She strolled over to her backpack and opened the zipper. She dug through its contents and pulled out a notebook, a pencil, and her history textbook, and placed them on her desk. She opened her book and began reading aloud, pencil in hand, and ready to take notes.

"Section Three: The Triforce…"

7:38 AM: FIRST PERIOD- ANCIENT HYLIAN HISTORY

Link set the class roster on his desk upon completing attendance. All the students were present, minus one notable exception- an exception that Link was pretty worried about.

"Okay class," Link started. He motioned over to the stack of test papers on his desk. He pulled out nineteen of them and held them out to the class so they could all the front of the page. "Now the quiz is…"

Just before he could complete his sentence, the door opened, and came in- or should I say 'stumbled in'- Zelda, totally out of breath.

Everyone, including Link, directed their attention towards her, who was trying to regain her composure.

"Ms. Harkinian, how nice of you to join us fifteen minutes late…" Link spoke, with a mix of two emotions in his tone: annoyance due to her lateness and happiness due to that she actually showed up.

Zelda blushed and handed him a tardy slip. "I'm sorry, Link…"

Link smiled at her reassuringly. "Quite alright," he replied. "For a second, I thought you weren't able to come today, due to your little mishap yesterday afternoon…" He continued as he set the slip on his desk.

Zelda smiled weakly and made her way towards her usual seat next to Malon.

"Now as I was saying," Link began again, "the quiz is multiple choice, twenty-five questions, and each question is worth two points." He began passing out the papers to all the students. "You have the entire period to complete this, which is _way_ more than enough time to do so. Whenever you are finished, just bring it up to me, and you can quietly read or work on anything for your other classes."

Once he gave the last person their test, he took a seat at the teacher's desk.

He looked at the clock, and it read "7:40." He looked back at the class, who was in turn was looking at him for further instruction.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you may begin," he finally said.

---

As the students took their tests, Link found that his eyes seemed to be permanently fixated on Zelda.

He had to admit that ever since they first spoke yesterday, he's seemed to have this attraction towards her. He thought she was very beautiful, in a very innocent and humble sense of the word. Her hair shone a brilliant golden yellow in the sunlight, and her deep, violet eyes always seemed to glitter and sparkle. She dresses a lot more demure compared to a lot of the other girls in his other periods: she was wearing a grey pleated plaid skirt that went down to her mid-shin, a black deep V-neck blouse with sleeves that extended just below the elbows, and a white T-shirt under it, and black low-elevated sandalettes. It gave a very sophisticated look, and it made her look more like a business woman than a student.

Every time Link tried to pry his eyes off of her, he failed, much to his distress. But at the same time, didn't ever want to look away.

---

While Zelda continued her test, she felt a pair of blue eyes staring at her. She quickly stole a glance up without lifting her head, and sure enough, Link was gazing intently on her. She lifted her head all the way so that the two of them were looking each other squarely in the eye. She saw a smile slowly creep upon his lips. The same, toothy white smile that she was certain made tons of girls melt away upon eye contact, and she was no exception to the mold. She suddenly felt a weakening sensation in her knees; had it not been that she was seated, she would surely have fell flat on her face.

She didn't know how to respond, so she smiled back at him, albeit faintly.

Link felt his heart warming. Every time she smiled, he felt his insides lighten. But unfortunately, the moment ended rather quickly as Zelda look back down on her paper and continued to circle answers. In his opinion, it ended _too _quickly. He couldn't help but frown a bit and he looked back at the computer screen before him.

'_Are you _insane,_ Link? Falling for one of your students!? Of all the scandalous things to do! You could _never_ have a relationship with one of your students, especially one as young as her!'_

As much as Link hated to admit it, that little nagging voice in his mind _was_ right. Zelda was his student, and Link was her teacher. A romantic relationship between a student and a teacher is unheard of. It was one thing to be good friends with your student, which was completely acceptable, but taking it to romantic levels is one totally different situation. He'd just have to learn to deal with the fact that to him, Zelda was a student, and only that.

"Link…"

He looked up to see Zelda standing in front of him, holding out her test paper to him.

He gently took the paper from her and mouthed 'thank you' to her. She walked back to her seat and took out a reading book.

Link sighed quietly and took out a piece of blank white paper and a pencil from the desk drawer. Hoping to pass the time, he began to sketch a drawing of a certain blonde sixteen year old.

2:13 PM: SIXTH PERIOD- HYLIAN LITERATURE

With two minutes before school ending, Zelda stared aimlessly at the clock, hoping that time would somehow speed up and just make the damn bell ring. Hylian Literature always seemed to bore her, even though it was ironically her favorite genre. What a tangled web Zelda weaves.

"Class," Ms. Cremia, Zelda literature teacher said as she began erasing the white board. "You're homework tonight is to read the last two chapters of _The History behind the Three Spiritual Stones_. We will discuss those chapters tomorrow, so be ready."

Zelda groaned quietly and put the book in her backpack. She zipped up the pockets and lazily slipped her the bag on her back.

As if on cue, the bell began to ring, signaling the end of yet another tedious day of school.

"Bye kids, have a nice day!" Ms. Cremia yelled to her class as they poured out the door. They all bid farewell in reply, and they were all gone, just like that.

---

Zelda was walking down the main hallway with Malon and Saria, talking about their day while trying to make their way past the crowds of students lingering in the walkway towards the parking lot.

"Are you gonna watch Ruto's water polo match after school?" Malon asked the two other girls.

"Is she playing today?" Saria asked back. "I thought that was tomorrow."

Malon shook her head. "Nope, it's today. It starts at two forty-five."

"I think I'll go," Zelda spoke, brushing her hair back behind as the wind blew it into her face. "I don't have anything else to do after school. Just reading for English. Is Nabooru going?"

Malon shook her head. "She left early during last period for a doctor's appointment. She said it would take some time before she gets done there."

Zelda and Saria nodded in reply. After a little silence, Saria spoke up. "How well do you think you did on Link's quiz?"

Zelda smiled at that. "Pretty awesome, I guess. I was studying all night."

"Same here," Malon commented, waving to some of her friends as they passed by her. "I'm surprised Zelda was even able to finish, much less think that she did a good job; she spend half the period staring at Link."

Saria giggled and poked Zelda's arm. "Oooh, is that so, Zel?"

Zelda glared at the red head in defiance. "I was _not _staring at him!"

Malon shook her head. "Are you sure about that? I saw you and Link looking at each other for quite some time. By the way he was trying to get a look down your shirt; he seems to really like you."

Saria choked at that. "He was _what!?"_

Zelda pushed Malon away. "How could you tell that he was trying to do that!?"

Malon grinned slyly. "He was doing it in a very not-so obvious way. Even Romani saw it, and she sits all the way in the back. He clearly needs to work on his peeping skills."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Malon. Link could never like me."

"And why not?" Saria asked. "He's not that much older than we are. He's hardly senile looking. I'm still having a hard time trying to believe he's twenty-seven; he looks no older than seventeen, don't you think?"

Malon shrugged. "That's true, I guess. He does look very young, even for twenty-seven."

"Why, thank you," a voice spoke from behind them.

The three girls yelped in surprise and quickly whirled around. They saw Link smiling with his eyes closed, with one hand scratching the back of his head and another on his hip. Zelda could help but chuckle at the sight; to her, he looked like something out of an anime.

"Hey girls," he greeted.

"Hi, Link," they all replied stupidly like drooling little schoolgirls.

"Thanks for the compliment, Malon." Link stated.

"You know, it's rude to listen on other people's conversations," Malon scolded playfully, poking Link on his left shoulder.

Link chuckled and rubbed the spot where Malon poked him. "Well _excuse_ me," he snapped jokingly, raising an eyebrow. He rubbed the back of his neck and spoke again. "Anyway, I was wondering if I look talk to Zelda in private." He glanced up at Zelda, who raised both her eyebrows in wonder.

She turned to Malon and Saria, who shrugged in reply.

"Sure…" Zelda finally said, rubbing her upper-right arm. Link nodded and led her back up the stairs toward the classroom. Zelda looked back at the girls, who were both mouthing 'call me.' Zelda nodded and ran over to Link to catch up.

"So Link," Zelda broke the silence as they ascended up the stairs. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Actually," he started. He opened the classroom door and allowed Zelda in before he entered. He closed the door and took a seat at his desk. "Have a seat, Zelda." He gestured over to a chair. She nodded and pulled it over so that she was sitting next to him. Link reached into this shirt pocket and pulled out a black leather glasses case.

"I didn't know you wear glasses," Zelda commented. Link shook his head.

"I don't. These aren't real glasses." He opened the case and pulled out a pair of seemingly normal eye glasses. "The lenses are just glass." He held them to Zelda's eyes so that she was looking through the lens. She noticed that they didn't alter her vision one bit.

Zelda turned to him in confusion. "A girl I liked in college told me I would look 'cute' with glasses," he explained. "But I don't need to wear glasses, so I had them made so that the lens didn't magnify. They're only an accessory."

Zelda chuckled. "Cute trick."

Link put the glasses on and looked at her. "We dated for a little bit thereafter."

Zelda cocked an eyebrow. "You made fake glasses so a girl would date you?"

He shrugged. "Of course I felt bad about it, but sometimes… A guy will do some crazy things just for a girl." He winked at her, to which Zelda blushed.

"If you broke up, then why do you still wear them?" Zelda asked him after her face cooled down a bit.

"I heard girls love a guy with glasses," he replied naughtily.

Zelda laughed at that. "Well… They _do _make you look more attractive."

Link raised an eyebrow at her comment. Zelda blushed a hot pink color when she noticed her slip.

'_Goddesses… Did I just say that out loud?'_

There was a short awkward silence after that, but to Zelda it was an eternity.

Link cleared his throat softly. "Anyway… I brought you up here to talk about your test."

"Oh," Zelda stated. "How did I do?"

Link pulled out a manila folder full of test papers. He flipped through them, mumbling the names as he did.

"Ruto… Anju… Saria… Malon… Anju… Mikau… Zelda."

He pulled out her paper and handed it to her. "You be the judge."

Zelda took the paper and scanned it. At the top, she noticed that Link wrote, in bold, red ink, a "D."

"What is this!?" Zelda asked in bewilderment.

Link shrugged. "That's exactly what I want to know."

She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know how this happened. I studied very hard for this."

Link tried to ease her by resting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you did, Zelda. I can tell by your tone of voice."

"How did the other students do?" She asked him.

"Compared to you?" He asked in reply. "You got the lowest score in my roster."

Zelda's eyes widened. "Are you sure!?"

Link nodded. "Is there something bothering you lately? Rauru told me you're at the top of the Junior class. I can understand if you're somewhere at the bottom, but I think we can both agree that a "D" coming from the smartest kid in her class is unacceptable. I've even been told that Hylian History is your best subject. I'd really like an explanation for why you did so poorly."

Zelda shook her head 'no,' but she knew she was lying shamelessly to both Link and herself. There _was_ something interfering with her studying, and that certain something was the man sitting right next to her. But even then, that's no excuse for this atrocity of a grade. She read, reread, reviewed, and even filled half her 100 page notebook with notes on the section last night. She had no idea as to why she could have prepared herself for a mere quiz as if it was the SAT and still get an abysmal score: fifteen out of fifty points possible.

Link leaned on the desk. "Zelda, I think I have a solution."

Zelda looked up from her test. "Yes?"

"How's about I tutor you after school? I mean, it may be extreme over a quiz, but you have a chapter test on Friday, and you can't afford to do a bad job on that, especially with a quiz score like that." He poked the "D" on the paper gently.

Zelda considered her options. If she didn't accept his offer, there's a chance that she'd only do just as bad on that chapter test, if not worse- as if she could do any worse than a "D"; she didn't want to even imagine her reaction to an "F." If she _did_ go along with his tutoring, she'd just be distracted by his looks and would not learn a thing; it would be as if she didn't even take the tutoring at all. It was a lose-lose situation; she was damned if she did and damned if she didn't.

After a little while- two minutes to be exact, she answered.

"Yes, I'll go with the tutoring. I'll do anything to bring this grade up."

Link beamed and rubbed her shoulder. "Atta girl. But did you _really_ have to take that long to say 'yes'?"

Zelda smiled sheepishly. "Come on, Zelda, I don't bite." He joked.

She laughed quietly. "I know you don't."

Link let go of her shoulder. He looked at his watch. "2:54 PM."

"Well, I think it's we left, yes?" He offered.

Zelda nodded and stood up. She put the chair she was sitting on back to where it was and gave the test to him. He took the paper from her and put it back in the manila folder.

"Zelda, I make you a deal: if you get a "B" or higher on the test come Friday, I'll erase this grade." Link told her.

Zelda hesitated. "Can you do that? Won't you get in trouble?"

Link paused. "What Rauru doesn't know… won't hurt me."

They both laughed and Link continued. "Besides, I don't think your parents would appreciate a "D" from you."

Zelda nodded. "Good point."

Link put the folder in his backpack and grabbed his car keys. He opened the door for Zelda. She thanked him and exited. Link took one look at the classroom to see if he forgot anything. After he was done, he turned off the lights and closed the door and locked it.

LATER THAT EVENING AT ZELDA'S HOUSE

"What did you and Link talk about?" Saria asked Zelda.

"Oh, he said I didn't so well on the test today," Zelda replied.

Malon took a seat at Zelda's desk chair. "Really? What did you get?"

Zelda hesitated for a second, and then spoke. "A "D"."

Saria and Malon gasped in shock. "D"!?"

Zelda nodded. "I don't know what happened. I even told you guys I did some super hardcore studying last night."

Malon shrugged. "That sucks. History's your best subject…"

"Well, he said that he'd tutor me after school everyday until the chapter test Friday," Zelda told them.

Saria cocked an eyebrow. "We have a test Friday?"

Zelda nodded. "That's what he told me, anyway."

Malon looked worried. "Are you sure tutoring with him is a good idea?"

The other two looked at her. "What?"

"I mean, will you be able to focus, what with you and Link?" Malon rephrased the question.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Do you not think I considered that? But at this point, I figured I really need some help. He even told me that I needed it. I'll just have to learn to deal with the distractions."

Saria and Malon looked at each other with concerned expressions.

AT LINK'S HOUSE

Link poured himself a cup of tea and took a seat at the dining table. He looked at all the test papers sprawled out on the table's surface. He took a deep slurp from his drink and shuffled for Zelda's paper, and held it up. He examined all the questions, and noticed that some eraser marks from Zelda's old answers were still slightly visible. He took his clic-eraser and firmly erased away the old marks.

Oblivious to Zelda, she had actually gotten a perfect score; she correctly answered every single question on that test.

He just had to be closer to Zelda, so as he graded her paper, he thought of an idea: he erased three fourths of Zelda's original answers and circled the wrong choices in their place- an obvious attempt to have an excuse for him to spend more time with his student, even if it meant resorting to lying and deceit.

'_Link, this is one of the most idiotic stunts you have ever pulled. How could you even _think_ about doing something like this!?'_

Link sighed and spoke aloud, repeating what he told Zelda earlier today.

"Of course I felt bad about it, but sometimes… A guy will do some crazy things just for a girl."

* * *

Review, please.

* * *

End time: November 24, 2006; 1:19 PM, PST

* * *


	3. Not Just a Crush

* * *

Start time: November 25, 2006; 5:39 PM PST

* * *

Thanks for the positive feedback, people; it's all very uplifting. If you like Final Fantasy X stuff (namely Tidus/Yuna stories), read my _Under Glass_. People tell me that I did a really good job on it. Even if you like Final Fantasy X, you might want to read it anyway. There are relatively no tie-ins with the game; in fact, had it not been that I used the game's characters, it wouldn't even be a Final Fantasy X story at all (I used nothing from FFX except the characters, basically; it's set in real time Japan/US), so you don't have to play it to know what's going on. Read it! It's awesome. Anyway, here's chapter three. 

NOTE: I do not own "More Than Words" by Extreme.

* * *

"What did you get on Link's test, Malon?" 

Zelda looked at her as she took a bite out of her pizza. Malon set her burger down and dug into her backpack for her test paper. She pulled out her binder and opened it, and began flipping through papers on the folder pocket.

"Hmm… Oh, here we go," Malon said as she found the paper. She pulled it out and read Link's handwriting.

"'A-'… Forty out of fifty points… Hmm… I'm quoting his what he wrote on this: 'Good job, Malon! You should be on Jeopardy!'" She flipped the paper around so that the front is facing Zelda. Zelda took the paper from her and took another bite of her pizza.

"He has really neat handwriting…" Zelda commented. She looked up at Malon and giggled. "Guys with neat handwriting are _sexay_!" She shut her eyes and shook her head rapidly with emphasis on the last word. Malon laughed and took the paper back from her.

"Eww, Zel; you spit-talked on my test!" Malon yelled in disgust. She took her napkin and rubbed the spots where Zelda's saliva hit the paper.

Zelda chucked and turned to Saria, Nabooru, and Ruto. "What did you guys get?"

"'A'," Saria replied.

"'B+'," Ruto and Nabooru responded in unison, and then looked at each other when they discovered they got the same grade.

Zelda sighed and leaned on the lunch table. "That's a lot more than I can say about mine…"

Nabooru raised an eyebrow at her comment. "What are you talking about?"

Zelda slumped her shoulders down. "I got a 'D'."

Ruto's jaw dropped at that, which caused the food in her mouth to fall out, and Nabooru leaned over in shock. "What the hell!?"

"History's your best subject!" Ruto cried. "I mean, if there's anyone who knows all about Hylian History, it's you!"

"Thanks, Ruto," Zelda replied at her compliment. "But what can you do, you know? I can't expect to ace _every_ test I get, right?"

Nabooru nodded slowly. "Yeah, but still… Are you sure that he didn't make a mistake?"

Zelda nodded and took a sip from her water. "Yeah. He even went over the test with me yesterday after school."

"Is _that_ where you were yesterday?" Ruto asked. "No wonder you weren't in the stands!"

"Yeah," Zelda replied. "Sorry I missed it; I really wanted to go! What was the score?"

Ruto beamed at the question. "We won twenty to five!" She exclaimed triumphantly.

Zelda smiled at the news. "That's wonderful, Ruto!"

"You should have been there," Saria said. "Ruto scored half the points on her own!"

Ruto blushed at Saria's bragging. "Well you know how well we Zoras swim in the water; it's like we're _fish_ or something!"

They all laughed quietly and continued to eat their lunch in silence.

"Do you guys want to go to the mall after school?" Ruto asked, breaking the quietness between the five girls. "The new Bloomingdale's opens today."

Zelda cocked an eyebrow at that. "That's _today_!? I'm so going!"

But then Zelda remembered something; something that made her heart sink. "Wait… I can't."

Nabooru looked at her. "Why not?"

Zelda took the last bit of her pizza and brushed the crumbs off her hands. "I have a tutoring session with Link after school."

Nabooru's eyes widened in surprise. "Zelda Harkinian needs _tutoring_? Boy, I thought I'd never see the day!"

Zelda raised an eyebrow at her.

Nabooru shook her head and held her hands up defensively. "N-not that I _wanted_ to see the day…"

Zelda sighed and looked at her empty foil pizza pan. She crumpled it up into and ball and tossed it into a trash can a few feet behind her.

"But we all promised each other we'd go to Bloomingdale's together!" Ruto whined. "Remember? We told each other last week!"

"It's okay, Zel," Saria reassured. "We'll wait until the weekend so we'll be together. That way, everyone's happy!"

Ruto banged her fist on the table at Saria's suggestion. "Do _I_ look happy!? I don't know about you guys, but I am _not_ missing a chance at the half-off sale at their grand opening just because Little Miss Zelda here has to do some tutoring! I'll be damned if I…"

Before Ruto could finish her rant, Malon, who was sitting directly across from Ruto, kicked Ruto hard in the shin. "Ruto!"

"OWW!" Ruto wailed in pain. She rubbed her lower leg rapidly. "Fine, we'll all go on Saturday…" Ruto grumbled, obviously upset. "But if they run out of those baby blue capris, it's all your fault, Zelda!"

Zelda cocked an eyebrow at Ruto's yelling and rolled her eyes.

"Ruto?" Zelda started.

"What?" Ruto looked at her.

Zelda sneered at her with a very annoyed look.

"Shut up."

2:19 PM: AFTERSCHOOL

Zelda made her way up the stairs to Link's classroom, holding onto the banister as she ascended. Link didn't give her a specific time to be at her classroom, nor was he precise about when the sessions would end, so she figured that it was best to get there right after school; the sooner it started, the better.

Zelda stopped at the closed door. She could faintly hear the sound of an acoustic guitar. She peered through the narrow vertical window on the door and saw Link reclined in his seat, with his feet up resting on the desk, and playing an acoustic guitar and his head was thrown back so that he was facing the ceiling. His eyes were closed, almost as if he were dreaming.

Zelda smiled and knocked on the door.

'_You play guitar too? Link, you never fail to surprise me._'

"Come in," she heard Link call.

She turned the door knob and slowly opened the door.

Link opened his eyes and turned to the doorway to see Zelda standing before him, smiling.

He stopped playing and set the guitar down against the wall behind him.

"Oh, hey Zelda. Come on in."

She entered the room and closed the door gently behind her.

"You know how to play the guitar?" She asked.

He looked up at her. "Hm? Oh… Yeah, a little bit. I taught myself on my friend's guitar in college. I liked it so much that I decided to buy my own. Boredom does that to you sometimes; it makes you wanna play an instrument."

Zelda chuckled. "What song were you playing?"

"'More Than Words,'" he replied as he took off his glasses. "By Extreme. Have you ever heard of it?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes I have. My father used to sing it to me when I was a little girl. It's a beautiful song… In my opinion, anyway."

"I think so, too." Link concurred, gathering the sheet music on his desk.

"Can you play some for me?" Zelda asked him.

Link hesitated for a bit. "We… Really should be studying…"

"Oh, come on Link… Please?" Zelda asked again in her sweetest voice.

Link paused for a minute, looking at his guitar. He glanced up at Zelda, who was looking down at her with hope in her eyes. Her beautiful, captivating, indigo colored eyes.

'_Is it really that important to you?'_ He thought. He sighed quietly and leaned back into his chair.

"Okay… But after this, we're hitting the books, alright?"

Zelda nodded happily. "Deal."

She took a seat from a desk and pulled it over so that she was sitting next to him like yesterday. He grabbed the guitar from behind him and waited for her to take a seat.

"You ready?" Link asked her. She set her binder on her lap and leaned forward. "Yes."

He nodded slowly in reply. He began playing the intro and started singing the words as well.

"_What would you do if my heart was torn in two?  
More than words to show you feel  
That your love for me is real"_

Zelda stared at him in amazement. _'You sing too? Link… you just keep getting better and better with every passing minute.'_ Zelda was deeply enamored with Link's smooth tenor voice, and his singing made her insides flutter. She felt goose bumps appear on her arms, and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end due to his sweet vocals.

"_What would you say if I took those words away?  
Then you couldn't make things new  
Just by saying I love you"_

He proceeded to transition into the guitar break, but he accidentally hit a wrong note.

"Eww!" He yelped immediately at the stray note. "That sounded nasty."

He strummed the strings rapidly in slight frustration and sighed loudly.

Zelda giggled and clapped softly. "That was very beautiful, Link."

Link smiled warmly at her bowed his head. "Thank you." He set the guitar back where it was and dusted off his hands.

"I wish I could play the guitar," Zelda lamented.

"It's really easy," Link told her. "A lot simpler than the other instruments out there."

Zelda shrugged. "I don't know… Malon tried to teach me once, but I gave up. The chord fingering cramped my hands."

Link chuckled at that. "Maybe you just need a smaller guitar. If you want, I can teach you sometime…"

He gently placed a hand on her leg, and he lovingly caressed her skin. Soft, supple, satin skin. He loved the way her skin left.

Zelda looked up at him. Straight into his cobalt blue eyes. The same eyes that never failed to make her heart melt away.

She paused for a second before replying. "I'd really like that."

Link beamed at her and nodded. "Good, but right now, we have some studying to do!" He proclaimed energetically.

Zelda laughed and pulled out her textbook from her backpack and a piece of paper from her binder.

Link pulled open a drawer and took out his teacher's textbook and closed the drawer back up. He flipped the book open and search for the section on the Triforce.

"Now," Link started. "Zelda, tell me what you know about the Triforce."

Zelda was about to read off from the page, when Link stopped her by placing his hand on her's.

"Without looking at the book," he added. Zelda sighed and used the piece of paper in her hand as a bookmark and placed it between the two pages and closed the book.

"Um… It's divided into three separate parts…" She started.

"And what are those parts?" He asked.

"Triforce of Power, Courage, and Wisdom," she replied.

Link nodded and smiled. "Good. What else?"

"It has a mind of its own and can only be possessed by those of good heart?"

Link shook his head. "Nope."

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't?"

"Well, you're half right. The Triforce is a holy relic created by the three goddesses that houses their divine power… You may want to take notes."

Zelda nodded and opened her book back up and picked up her pencil, ready to take notes on what Link was about to say on the paper.

"The Triforce is an inanimate object that cannot tell between the forces of good and evil. If it _did_ only bestow itself among those of pure heart, do you think it would allow the Evil Wizard who held the Triforce of Power two thousand years ago to control it?"

Zelda thought about that. "No… I never thought about that." She wrote down what Link had said.

"Alright," Link said, continuing his lecture." "As you said, there are three parts to the Triforce, each representing the three goddesses: Din, Nayru, and Farore. Like I said Monday in my lecture, Din represents Power, Nayru represents Wisdom, and Nayru represents Courage." He paused momentarily so that Zelda could catch up.

"It is said that to take control of all three parts of the Triforce simultaneously, you must possess all three characteristics the Triforce parts represent."

Zelda looked up from her paper. "Power, wisdom, and courage?"

Link nodded and pointed at her. "Exactly. According to legend, the Triforce, once touched, granted every wish of its holder, and bestowed upon that person eternal youth and vitality. Once in a person's possession, the Triforce was a reflection of the heart of it's holder, whether the person was good for bad." He paused again, waiting for Zelda to finish note taking. "The Evil Wizard somehow entered the Sacred Realm where the Triforce was housed and wanted all three parts for himself. Unfortunately, the Triforce deemed him unworthy of all three parts because he did not have the courage or wisdom to take control of the Triforces of Wisdom or Courage; therefore, he was only able to have the Triforce of Power due to his unquenchable thirst for power."

"What became of the other two parts?" Zelda asked.

"The Triforces of Courage and Wisdom separated from each other and scoured Hyrule for someone who represented their respective characteristics more than any other. It's said that the Triforce of Wisdom merged with the beautiful Princess of Hyrule, for she possessed a great deal of good judgment and intellect, and the Triforce of Courage became one with the legendary hero of legend, for he had one of the most courageous and fearless hearts in all of Hyrule: the Hero of Time. All three of these people were imbued with the power of their respective Triforces, and Triforce marks with their individual Triforces shaded a darker color than the others appeared on the back of their dominant hands: the Evil Wizard and the Princess received the marks on their right hand, while the Hero of Time had his on his left."

Zelda was intrigued. She thought that this session was going to be boring, for she knew all she needed to know about Triforce lore, but Link taught her information she didn't even think existed. Good thing she took up Link's offer; she probably would have failed Link's test on Friday for sure… Or so she thought.

---

It was four forty-five, unbeknownst to either Zelda or Link. Contrary to what she first thought the night before, Zelda was actually able to keep her attention on Link's lesson, as opposed to staring at him all day, with the exception of a few stolen glances here and there.

They had been so engrossed in the lesson that they never bothered to look up at the clock. It wasn't until the door opened that they snapped back into reality.

The both looked up from their books to see a janitor with his cleaning cart at the door.

"You guys still here?" He asked.

Link nodded. "Yes, why?"

The man shrugged. "It's just that all the staff is usually gone by four fifteen, and the school locks up at five."

Link was puzzled. "What? Wait, what time is it?"

The janitor checked his watch. "Four forty-six, he replied.

Link raised an eyebrow and checked his own watch.

'_4:46 PM,' _it read.

"Huh… Time flies, eh Zelda?" Link commented.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Link, can we call it a day please? I really need to be getting home. My parents must be worried sick about me."

Link yawned loudly, stretching out his arms. "Yeah, I was just about to call it a day anyway."

They both stood up and moved around a bit, waking up their tensed muscles, and gathered their belongings.

"Sorry to prolong your job, sir." Link apologized to the janitor.

The man shrugged it off. "Think nothin' of it, kid."

Zelda placed the chair she was using back in its place, and she proceeded to aid the janitor by placing all the chairs on the table tops so that he could clean the floors more easily.

"Thank you, kindly," he said to Zelda. She smiled in reply and picked up her backpack. Link placed his guitar in its case and he zipped the case closed. He grabbed it by the handle and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

The two of them bid the janitor farewell and left him to his work.

The janitor dunked his mop into the bucket full of water and paused for a moment.

"Nice kids," he thought aloud. "They'd make a good pair."

And with that, he began mopping the linoleum floors, whistling all the while.

---

"What's that?"

Link looked at Zelda confused. "What's what?"

Zelda pointed to his left hand. "That."

Link looked at where he was pointing. "…A guitar?"

Zelda chuckled and shook her head. "Noooo… _That._"

She raised his left hand and showed him the back of it. It was a mark that looked like a Triforce with the bottom left triangle shaded in.

"Oh… It's a tattoo," he responded. "You just noticed it?"

She nodded slowly. "Well…. Yeah. When did you get it?"

"Senior year in high school," he replied. "People kept telling me that I looked like the Hero of Time: blonde hair, blue eyes, silver earrings, muscular build, the fact that we were both left handed… everything."

Zelda remembered back earlier in their lesson. As she flipped the pages, she saw a picture of a young man who looked about her age- give or take a few years, and he was the very spitting image of Link. For a second, she even thought that the man she was looking at _was_ Link.

"So I said to myself," Link continued, "'if I look so damn much like him, why not get a tattoo of his Triforce mark to complete the package?' So I did. Think of it as cosplaying taken to a whole new level."

Zelda laughed at that. "I guess… But you really do look like him."

Link scoffed. "I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard _that_."

They both laughed softly, and a short silence fell between them, before Link spoke up again.

"You know who you look like?" He asked her.

She looked at him. "Who?"

He smiled. "The Princess in the legend."

Zelda thought about that, and thought back to the lesson again. Beside the picture of the Hero of Time was a woman. She was wearing very ornate and expensive looking clothing adorned with fine jewelry. Her blonde hair and sapphire eyes resembled herself so closely to the point that she thought she was looking in a mirror.

"Huh… I suppose I do," Zelda replied slowly.

Silence.

"...Did you know that they were a couple?"

Zelda paused. "No, I didn't know that… Were they really?"

Link shrugged. "At least that's what people like to believe; it's never been confirmed as true or false. You do kind of have to wonder, though; they were very close, they fought the Evil Wizard together, and there were hints in the legend that they were romantically involved... A claim that they were together is virtually inescapable, don't you think?"

Zelda pondered what he had just said. "When I think about it… they _did_ sound that they were very close to each other…"

Link nodded. "See what I mean?"

He fell silent for a short time. "Isn't it funny how we both look like them?"

Zelda nodded in reply. "Yeah."

"And isn't it funny how people think they're together?"

Zelda raised an eyebrow at that. "I.. Suppose…"

'_What is he getting at? Why is he saying those things?'_

"…Do you have a boyfriend, Zelda?"

Zelda turned away from him and blushed furiously, embarrassed at his question. "N-no…"

Link mentally jumped for joy at her answer. _'Yes!'_ He decided to push his luck with another question.

"...Would you want one?"

She looked down. _'Why are you asking me this?'_

"I… I don't know…"

Link eyed Zelda from the corner of his eye.

'_Damn, Zelda- take the hint!'_

Link was about to open his mouth to say something when they reached their cars, which were coincidentally side by side. Link laughed a bit.

"Hey, Zelda. We parked right next to each other. It's funny how things work out like that, eh?"

Zelda giggled. "Yeah, it is kind of funny how that happened. I didn't even know that was your car; I just wanted to find an open spot close to the school."

Link chortled at her reply. He stuffed his guitar and backpack in the trunk of his car, while Zelda got into the driver's seat of her own car and set her backpack in the front passenger's seat. They both started their engines and looked at each other to see who would pull out first, until Link yelled over the sounds of the engines at her.

"Go ahead!"

She nodded and shifted into reverse. She pulled out of her spot and shifted gears. She drove past Link slowly.

"Bye Link!" She called.

Link smiled at her and waved. "By Zelda! Have a nice day!"

She gave him a thumbs up sign as a response and drove away. He smiled backed the car out of the parking spot, and he drove off into the distance.

THAT EVENING

"Where have you been!?"

"We were worried sick!"

"You didn't even call us to say where you were!"

Zelda's parents continued to interrogate their daughter, bombarding her with questions left and right.

"Are you okay!?"

"Did you get raped!?"

"Are you pregnant!?"

"Will get you an abortion immediately!"

Zelda screamed in frustration. "GUYS!"

Her mother and father immediately fell silent.

Zelda sighed tiredly. "I'm fine! No, dad, I wasn't raped. I wasn't raped, I'm not pregnant, and I most certainly do _not_ need an abortion!"

Her parents were always overprotective of her, and Zelda couldn't really blame them for being so anal. She was their only child, and their daughter at that, and parents are usually overprotective of only daughters. But even then, the questions they were asking were beginning to get rediculous.

"Where were you?" Her mother asked in a more calm and collected tone than before.

"I was at school," Zelda replied. "I was, uh... Studying with a friend."

She couldn't tell them that she was in a tutoring session; if they even _suspect_ that her grades are slipping, they'll give her a five hour lecture on the importance of an education and how she should always aim for an 'A+'. Hey, it wasn't the exact truth, but at least she didn't lie.

"And that's it?" Her dad asked suspiciously.

She nodded in reply. "Yes!" She exclaimed exasperatedly.

Her mom sighed in relief. "Good! We thought that you were kidnapped or something!"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm sixteen years old. I'm more than capable to taking care of myself!"

Her mom took a breath. "I know, Zel. We're sorry for not having more confidence in you." She took her daughter in a warm embrace.

A few moments later, Zelda pulled away. "It's okay mom."

After a short silence, her dad clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Now that he have that squared away..." He walked over to the coffee table and picked up his mug, taking a deep gulp of his tea. "Who were you studying with?"

Zelda paused. What was she going to say? "Oh, well dad... I was studying with my very attractive teacher Link, who is eleven years older than I am, practically serenaded me with his guitar with a love song, and we were in his classroom all by ourselves for more than an hour."

_'Fat chance!'_

Coming home almost two hours late without even giving her parents the foggiest idea of where she has been in that time already sent her parents into a tizzy. The last thing she wanted to do was to send them over the edge and let all hell break loose by telling them that she was in a room with a boy almost twice her age, who, for all her parents knew, could have seduced her and taken her on his desk right then and there.

"Oh..." She began timidly. "Just, you know... A few girlfriends."

Her mom nodded in reply. "Like who?"

_'Damn!' _

Zelda tapped her index fingers together. "Malon... Ruto... Saria... Nabooru... The usual. We have a chapter test on Friday, and we decided that we'd hit the books."

Her dad furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh... Okay. Well, dinner will be done soon. You might as well continuing studying."

Zelda nodded. "Right... Well, I'll be down when dinner's ready."

And with that, she practically sprinted up the stairs.

---

_Link threw Zelda down on the bed, and she grunted in reaction to the impact. Link pounced on top of her and pressed his lips against hers. He savored the softness of her lips; while her's were gentle and supple, his were hard and cracked. She moaned softly and dug her nails into the strong muscles of his back. He groaned seductively at her touch. She felt quite satisfied knowing that she could get that reaction out of him._

_Link gently parted her lips with his own, and slipped his tongue into her mouth, feeling every crevasse and contour of the inside. Their tongues battled over control of the kiss, and Link soon gave up, relinquishing the upper hand to the woman underneath him._

_She slipped her hands onto his chest and felt his hard torso, grabbing his abdominal muscles and his pectorals. He groaned louder, and he slowly massaged her breasts…_

Zelda quickly shot out of bed, her body dripping with sweat. She was breathing heavily, and her hair was sticking to her slick skin. She looked down, and rapidly pulled the blanket off of her. Just as she thought, she was clothed, and she looked to her sides, and saw no sign of Link.

Was it a dream? Were all of the sexual moaning and groaning, all the fervent and unrelenting kisses, and all of the heated passion and love making… nothing more than an erotic, adolescent fantasy?

But it was so real. Something that felt _that_ realistic just can't be a dream.

She fell back onto the mattress and turned on her side so that she was facing the wall. Once again, her mind conjured the image of Link into the patterns of the wall's design. Hoping to rid her brain of every image of Link, she shut her eyes closed and huddled herself together into a fetal position, hidden beneath the covers, praying to the goddesses that she would be relieved of the burden of her feelings for Link that were anything _but_ nonsexual.

But nothing happened.

Every time she attempted to rid any idea about Link, they came back with a vengeance, doubling in strength.

She wished that she could find the Triforce, hold it in her hands, and wish that any romantic emotion she had for Link were permanently erased from her mind, body and soul, freeing her from Link once and for all, but at the same time wanted nothing more than to wish on the Triforce that she and Link would be together, in each other's arms, and endlessly confirming their love in the ultimate physical display of affection.

'_It's not a crush…_

…_It's love.'_

* * *

Review, please.

* * *

End time: November 25, 2006; 9:49 PM, PST

* * *

UPDATE- November 27, 2006; 7:49 PST: I am SO sorry for this chapter's delay. If you notice, the start and end times read "November 25," but that was two days ago, and this is the 27th. The delay was because I tried to upload the chapter Saturday night, but for some reason, it wouldn't upload because of "an error occured while processing your request." So I kept trying and trying but it kept saying the exact same thing, and it kept going on until right now! I hope that this doesn't happen again, or I'll be SUPER pissed off. Has this ever happened to any of you? Tell me in your review (which you should better do!) I thought it was just my computer acting all gay like it usually does, so tried it on my parent's computer, my brother's computer, and his lap top, and it kept saying the exact same message, and I was really mad because I'd check the "Just In" section, and it looked like everybody else was able to update. Grrrr. Anyway, that's all over, and here's the chapter a lot of you have been waiting for. Again, sorry for the horrible delay, and I hope this doesn't happen again.

* * *


	4. Cut

* * *

Start time: November 28, 2006; 5:05 PM

* * *

I really have nothing to say before I start, other than thank you to the reviewers for their support. Anyway, here's chapter four.

* * *

"Ugh…" 

Link tossed over to the side on his mattress and pulled the covers over his body. The incessant beeping of his alarm clock echoed throughout his empty, dark, cold room.

'_Damn clock…'_

He stuck his arm out from under the blankets and felt around for the snooze button, to no avail. Frustrated, he poked his head out as well and bashed his fist on the snooze button, silencing the alarm clock.

He pulled the bedspread down to his waist and leaned forward, supporting his upper body on his elbows. He turned lazily to the right, checking the time on his clock.

"5:26 AM," it read.

He sighed collapsed onto his mattress, and moved his right arm up so that his hand was between his head and the pillow, and stared at the popcorn texturing of his ceiling, making shapes and pictures out of the designs.

After a few minutes, deciding that he had spent enough time doing nothing, he tiredly pushed the blankets off him, slowly sat up, and moved over to the bedside. His feet felt around on the carpet for his slippers, and once he found them, he slipped his feet into them, still sitting on the side.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned boomingly, stretching his arms out as far as he could. He stood up grudgingly and walked out of the room, making his way through the darkness towards the bathroom.

Once inside, he flipped the light switch on and immediately the light bulbs lit up one by one.

Link gasped sharply and shut his eyes closed at the brightness of the room. He made baby steps forward with his hands extended outward, feeling for the counters like a blind man. Once he felt the cold surface, he supported himself on it with his hands gripping the edges and slowly opened his eyes, letting in the light pour into his vision.

He blinked rapidly, trying to rid the tears from his eyes and was met with his reflection.

He stared at his disheveled, messy blond hair topped with a green floppy sleeping cap which resembled a Santa hat, his tired, baggy eyes, his bare, well-defined hairless chest, and his green pajama bottoms, which were barely hugging his hips. He noticed a light happy trail start at his belly button and down to his pubic region, and marks from the ripples in his blankets were pressed into his skin. He turned on the faucets and cupped his hands under the running water. After his hands were full of water, he leaned forward and splashed the liquid into his face. Droplets fell into the sink, with some stray beads hitting the sink and some run down his neck and chest.

He turned the taps off and walked over to the bathtub. He pulled of his floppy hat and set it on the counter and shook off his already loose pajama bottoms and let them hit the ground. He kicked them off behind him and pulled open the shower curtains. He leaned in and turned on the taps and let the hot water run down the faucet. He ran his hand through the small waterfall, making sure the water temperature was just right. Once it was right enough, he turned another knob and the faucet stopped dripping, and the showerhead began spraying water rapidly.

Link stepped into the bathtub and pulled the curtains closed. He grabbed a shower pouf in one hand and a container filled with shower gel in another. He popped it open with his hand and squirted the soap onto the pouf. He set the gel down and scrubbed his entire body thoroughly, leaving no part of his body below his neck unclean. When he was done took the pouf by the string and wrapped it around one of the taps. He let the water wash away the suds on his body, and while he did that, took his shampoo bottle and squeezed the contents onto his hair. He massaged his scalp slowly, and rapidly ran his shampoo covered hands through his blonde locks. When he was done, he took the shower head off from the handle and let the water rinse out his hair, and turned the water off quickly.

He poked his arm through an opening between the curtain and the wall and pulled his towel off the towel rack. He dried his face and his body off with the towel and wrapped it around his waist. He got out of the bath tub and walked over in front of the counter and mirror. He took his hand and wiped the heavy steam off the mirror, revealing his reflection to himself.

He ran a hand through his wet hair and he shook his head rapidly like a dog, letting the water and his hair fly in every which direction. He took a comb from a tray on the counter and combed his hair back, wringing out the water. He looked up at his reflection and stared at his hair. He couldn't help but laugh out loud; he personally thought he looked ridiculous like that! He unwrapped the towel from his waist and dried out his hair with it. He looked back into the mirror and saw that his hair was restored to its normal, shaggy style.

'_That's better,'_ he thought.

Link has always had unruly hair for as long as he could remember. The only time he ever changed his hair style was during high school when he was in JROTC, or Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, a military sponsored program in high schools that taught, modeled, and treated the students involved in it as if they were members of the military, even though they had no obligations to join the actual armed forces. To comply with the grooming standards of the program, Link was forced to shave his hair off so that it was a buzz cut. Girls thought that he looked attractive with his hair cut off, and that it gave him a "manly soldier" air about him, but despite that, he thought that it looked better the old long, unkempt way.

He scratched his naked chest and leaned forward to get a better look of himself. He flashed a charming smirk and winked at himself.

'_You are one handsome guy,'_ he complimented himself.

Link was never one to spend so much time on his outer appearance, and showering himself with narcissistic comments was never his cup of tea, but for some reason, he felt very attractive, and you'd almost go as far to say that he was beginning to get a little full of himself. He also felt the urge to dress up more nicely than usual, for reasons unknown to himself.

'_It's Zelda, isn't it?'_

Link thought about that. Ever since Zelda came into his life, he began paying more attention to his looks than he did before; he'd spend hours looking at himself in a mirror, he'd only wear his best clothes and accessories to work, or in this case, school, and every chance he'd get, he'd look into some reflective object and check over his looks.

'_No, Link! Quit thinking about her! She's your student! STUDENT. You know perfectly well what would happen should you get into a relationship with her!'_

The little voice in the back of his head was right; a student-teacher relationship was severely looked down upon in society. It was a lose-lose situation to both people involved: if they were to become a couple, they would be shunned by the public for breaking taboo. If they didn't, they would forever spend their lives wondering of the romance that could have been. It was without a doubt one of the most damned positions to be in.

Not only would he become an outsider, but he would surely lose his job on the spot. No parent would ever trust their daughter under his instruction; they'd automatically think he would come on to her and womanize her. He'd have no choice but to dismiss himself from the field of teaching.

But what would become of Zelda? She'd be teased and ridiculed by her classmates for being known as the girl who developed romantic relations with a teacher. Her parents would be furious with her, not only for committing social suicide, but by getting involved with some almost twice her age, and no parent would want their daughter to be caught up with someone who has more "experience" in romantic situations. She would also be the one to bring shame and dishonor to her family name, and the entire family would become outcasts, all because of her. She was too young for that to happen to her, and he wouldn't even _think_ of dreaming of putting her in that position.

But even if it _was_ perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the public, what makes him think that he'd have a chance in Hell of being with her? For all he knew, she probably only viewed him as a teacher, and nothing more than that. If he were to tell her that he had fallen head over heels in _love_ with her, and she didn't feel the same, that would surely make teaching her very awkward. Either that or she'd just think he was being a sick pervert playing with her heart and would demand a restraining order against him.

Sighing, he hung his head in defeat and walked out of the bathroom, turning off the light behind him.

He turned on his bedroom light and strolled over to his closet. He pulled out a white Billabong shirt and pulled it over his head. He got a fresh pair of green boxers, and a pair of blue boot cut jeans, and slipped them on respectively. He kneeled down and opened a drawer where he kept his socks. He got out some low-rise ankle socks and pulled them over his feet. He got up and looked at the clock.

"6:32 AM."

He dusted off his legs and went out to the kitchen. He had to leave soon to get the classroom ready for school, so he got a glazed Krispy Kreme donut from a box container next to the toaster and put it in a small paper bag. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a chilled glass bottle filled with mocha frappucino from Starbucks. He stuffed some napkins into the bag as well, grabbed his car keys, his backpack, and headed out the door.

7:19 AM: CLASSROOM

After Link had finished made all the copies of the test tomorrow, and prepared his lesson plan for today, he was finally able to relax. He took a seat on his chair and pulled out a napkin. He used it to take out the donut, and he took one hungry bite out of it. He grinned happily and nodded in approval, savoring the taste of the donut.

"Mmmmmm…."

Just then, the first period bell rang.

He looked at the clock, seeing that it was seven twenty-five. He got up form his chair and opened the door so that the students could get inside.

He took a seat again and skillfully popped the airtight cap open with one hand as he held the donut in the other.

As students slowly poured in, they greeted Link and took their seats.

"Hey, Link."

"What's up, Link?"

"Good morning, Link."

"Hi, Mr. Avalon."

Link smiled at them and took a drink of his frappucino.

It was almost time for the late bell to ring, and just before it rang, Zelda ran in.

Link glanced over to her from the corner of his eye. "How nice of you to join us, Zelda. I see you're late- again."

She glared at him at his mock-snide comment. "I wasn't late! I got in before the bell rang!"

Link took another bite of his donut. "Whatever you say," he replied, smirking at her.

Zelda rolled her eyes and sat next to Malon.

Taking another gulp of his drink, Link got up and stood before the class.

"Mornin'!" Link proclaimed.

"Good morning!" The class yelled energetically.

Link smiled at their enthusiasm. "It's nice to see you all today… Now, for attendance." He reached for a file folder on his desk and opened it. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and began reading names. All the students were presentm as always.

When he finished attendance, he closed the folder and set it back on his desk.

"Now, what we are going to do is basically a review of the whole chapter, starting with what you learned with Madame Din on sections one and two, up to section three with me." He picked up a stack of papers and handed them out to the class.

"You can either work on these individually, or you can get into a group if you want, it doesn't bother me. Just limit your groups to three; I don't want it getting loud in here."

As soon as everyone had a paper, he put the extras on his desk. "If you guys need help or anything, just ask and I'll be there… Go ahead and begin." He took a seat at his desk and took the last bite of his donut.

Malon and Zelda decided to pair up work together, but like any typical group of teenagers, began to converse instead, ignoring the given assignment.

"Hey," a voice called.

They looked up and saw Romani standing over them, holding her book and the review sheet.

"Can I join you girls?" She asked.

Zelda and Malon both nodded and they pulled open a seat for her. Romani thanked them and sat down.

"So," Romani started, "what are we all talking about?"

"Nothing, really," Malon replied, writing her name on the paper, trying to look like she was doing something.

"Oh really?" Romani asked. "Zelda, how did your tutoring with Link go?"

Zelda looked at her wide-eyed, caught off-guard by her question. "How did you know about that?"

Romani chuckled. "Ruto told me. She was going on about how she missed the grand opening sale at Bloomingdale's yesterday because you had some after school lesson with Link."

Zelda smiled and shook her head. Leave it to Ruto to totally blurt out a secret.

"So how'd it go?" Romani asked again.

"It was fine," Zelda replied. "We just talked about the Triforce and things of that nature."

"Were you able to pay attention?" Malon asked her.

"Actually… Yeah," Zelda told her. "I wasn't really distracted at all. I looked at him a few times here and there, but nothing really major."

Malon raised her eyebrows. "Really? That's a surprise."

"What are you guys talking about?" Romani asked, interested in their conversation.

"Well," Zelda began, "ever since Link began teaching, I've been kind of distracted by these thoughts I keep having about him."

"And who can blame you? Link is hot!" Romani exclaimed loudly, but kept it quiet so that Link couldn't hear her.

"All the girls in his classes do nothing but gush about how sexy he is," Romani said. "Every time I get into a conversation with them, it's always 'Link this,' 'Link that'…"

They all laughed at Romani's little anecdote, when Link interrupted them.

"Girls," he started. Zelda, Malon, and Romani looked at him, who was looking back at them from his desk.

"Get to work," he scolded, trying not to sound strict.

The three of them smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Link," they all replied in unison.

He smiled and nodded. "It's alright. It's okay to talk… Just make sure you get at least the front page done."

They nodded in understanding, and Link directed his attention back to his computer screen.

They turned back to each other, and they swiftly began working. The only sounds they made were their pencils writing, the pages of their textbook flipping as they looked for the answers, and the occasional speaking when they asked each other for help.

After some while, Romani looked up from her paper to see Link deeply engrossed into whatever he was looking at on the computer. She smirked to herself and tapped Malon and Zelda on the shoulders with her clic-eraser. They both looked up at her with questioning expressions.

"What do you think he's doing?" Romani asked them, subtly pointing her pencil at Link.

Trying not to attract Link's attention with their staring, Malon and Zelda surreptitiously looked over to him from the corners of their eyes.

"I don't know…" Malon replied.

"Me neither," Zelda responded.

Romani giggled. "I think he's looking at porn."

Zelda's eyes widened. "What!?"

"See for yourself!" Romani exclaimed. "He's been staring at that damn computer screen all period, and look how his left arm looks like it keeps yanking at something under the desk…"

The two other girls glanced back, and Romani could not have been more right even if she tried.

Zelda blushed as Link continued to… do whatever he was doing.

Malon turned back to Zelda and Romani, shuddering in disbelief. "That's the last time I touch his hands…"

2:43 PM: AFTERSCHOOL

Zelda was a half hour late for her tutoring session because she had to finish a test for Hylian Literature for last period, and she wasn't allowed to leave until she completed it, so she couldn't tell Link. She hoped he would understand.

Before Zelda stopped by Link's room again for her tutoring, she called her house and told her mom that she would be coming home late again. After what happened last night, she wanted to make sure nothing like that happened again.

When she stopped by the door, she saw that no one was inside the room, despite the door being open.

Figuring that he just stepped out for a little bit, she entered the room and as usual, pulled out a seat next to Link's chair. She set her binder on the desk and reclined into her chair. She looked around his desk to see a small vial of lotion sitting on the ground, to which she slightly cringed.

'_So Romani _was_ right. I thought as much anyway; Link seemed like the kind of guy who does stuff like _that…'

"Oh, it's you."

Zelda turned around to see Link standing in the doorway holding a plate of spaghetti and a bottle of water.

He walked in and took a seat next to her, placing the food on his desk.

"Have you been waiting long?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No, I just got here myself. I was finishing a test in English."

"Oh…"

There was a small silence, and then Zelda spoke up.

"What's that for?" Zelda asked, gesturing at the spaghetti.

"Oh… My lunch. I wasn't able to eat during lunch because I've been at a staff meeting since fourth period."

Zelda nodded slowly, furrowing her eyebrows.

_'Why would they invite a substitute teacher to a staff meeting?'_

Shrugging it off, she watched Link stuff the pasta and meatballs into his mouth. He stopped for a moment and looked up at her, who has giggling at his messy eating.

Link couldn't help but chuckle at himself and he swallowed what was in his mouth.

He got a napkin and wiped his mouth off, and extended his fork to her.

"You want some?"

"…Maybe just a little bit." She looked at it for a second and down at the plate.

"Do you have an extra fork or something?" She asked.

Link shook his head. "That's my only one. You can use it, though," he offered.

Zelda hesitated a bit. Link saw her uncertainty and nudged her a bit.

"Come on, Zelda. I'm not sick or anything. As if you've never shared spoons or forks with your friends before, right?"

She had to admit, he _was_ right; she'd occasionally share things like silverware and cups with Malon.

Giving in, she curled some spaghetti around the prongs of the fork and she stuck it in her mouth.

"So?" Link asked curiously. "How's the food?"

Zelda swallowed it. "It's good." She handed the fork back to him, and he continued to eat, occasionally sharing with her.

After they finished the food, Link told her that they would begin their lesson.

"Okay, Zelda… Do you have any nicknames?" Link asked her.

"Hmm? My family and friends call me 'Zel' sometimes."

He nodded in reply. "Okay, _Zel_… Can you hand me that manila folder over there?"

He pointed to a large manila folder across from Zelda. He turned around to get his pencil out of his backpack, when he heard Zelda yelp in pain.

"OWW!"

He quickly whirled around to see her gripping her left index finger and tears forming in her eyes.

"What happened!?" He asked with deep concern in his eyes and tone of voice.

He took her hands in his and removed the hand hiding her finger to reveal a rather large, narrow cut with blood beginning to spill out.

"What the…" Link started.

"It's from the folder," she explained.

Link inhaled sharply. He's had paper cuts before, but those were _nothing_ compared to the pain of a cut from a manila folder.

He stood up and grabbed a small first-aid kit sitting on top of the fire extinguisher cabinet. He took Zelda by the right hand and led her out the room and down the halls until they got to a water fountain.

He knelt down and opened up the first-aid kit and rummaged for a cotton ball, a vial of rubbing alcohol, and a large band-aid.

He turned the fountain knob and it began shooting out water.

"Run it through the water," he instructed her, referring to her cut.

Zelda timidly poked her finger through the running water and winced as the coldness almost numbed her finger. The blood turned a pinkish color as it mixed with the water, swirling down the drain. Link let go of the knob and the water flow stopped.

The cut was still bleeding, and Zelda didn't want to dry it on her shirt because it was bleach white, so she turned to Link.

"W-what do I used to dry it?" Zelda asked, shivering.

Link paused for a second. He looked back into the kit for some paper towels of any kind, but found none, and he and Zelda had used all the napkins while they were eating earlier. The nearest bathroom was downstairs, but he wouldn't leave her alone, nor would he allow her to go by herself. The only thing he had that she could use was the shirt on his back and the last cotton ball, but it was already wet after he dabbed it with the rubbing alcohol.

'_Shit,'_ he cursed.

He sighed and gave the cotton ball to Zelda, telling her to hold it for a moment. He reached for the hem of his white shirt and pulled it over his head.

Zelda's mouth fell agape at him. His muscles flexed and stretched as he stripped himself of his top. He took his shirt in his hand and handed it to her.

"Take it," he told her.

Her voice was beginning to shake. "I… I can't take that; it's your shirt… The blood will get on it, and plus, it's white…" Her resolve was beginning to break as she caught herself staring at his chiseled abs.

Link began to get frustrated. "Just take it, Zelda. Your cut might get infected if you don't dry it on _something_."

She sighed and gave into him. She took the article of clothing from his hand and wiped off the water and blood from her finger. As soon as she was done, more blood began to flow, and wiped it off again. Link looked at her, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. He's seen manila folder cuts before, and they weren't supposed to be _this_ bad.

"Give me your finger," Link told her. Zelda reached out her hand and the cotton ball, knowing what he was going to do.

He took the cotton ball from her and gently wiped the extra blood away with it, trying to make it as painless for her as possible.

She shut her eyes in response to the stinging, and tears began welling up in her eyes. She had to bit her lower lip so that she wouldn't scream. She felt Link press the cotton ball firmly into her finger. She let out a squeal of pain, and almost impulsively grabbed onto Link, tightly holding on to his body.

Her actions caught her by surprise, and her front was literally smashed against his own.

Link leaned into her and whispered into her ear in an almost deep, _sensual_ growl.

"I'm sorry; I know it hurts."

What he said sent chills down her spine; those words was exactly what he said during her very heated vision last night.

_'I'm sorry; I know it hurts.'_

At any rate, his voice calmed her down somewhat, and soon, she felt the pressure come off her finger. She slowly opened an eye to see Link wrapping the band-aid around her finger. The cut was still bleeding a bit, but not as much as it was before. She began staring at his naked torso again.

'_He's more muscular than I thought he would be…'_ She thought, referring to her dream the night before.

He felt her eyes on him and he quickly locked his gaze on her. They stayed that way for some while before he let out a charming beam. She giggled quietly and held his shirt to her heart. Link bent down and closed the first-aid kit. They both walked down the halls to the classroom in silence.

Once inside, Link set the case where it was previously and glanced at Zelda who was sitting in her seat quietly. He made his way over to her and knelt beside her.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

She nodded slowly. "I'm fine… But I'm terrified of manila folders now."

Link chuckled and daringly rested his chin on her leg.

Zelda looked down at him, and he in turn looked up at her.

After some more silence, Zelda spoke up.

"Thank you."

He shook his head in reply. "No problem."

Link stood up slowly, brushing off his now bare chest. "I think we'll cancel for today," he told her, referring to the tutoring session they were supposed to be in before the events that ocurred a few minutes ago.

Zelda shook her head 'no'. "We can't cancel just because of…"

Link stopped her. "It's not that. I think you're ready for the test. You seemed to get the main idea yesterday. I think you just had an off day on Tuesday when you took the quiz."

Deep in his heart, he almost doubled over in throes of guilt at the last sentence.

Zelda nodded. "I suppose."

Link helped her up. "Then it's settled."

They began to clean up the room, and gathered their belongings.

3:12 PM: PARKING LOT

"Where's your car?"

Zelda looked up at him. "I didn't take it," she replied. "I carpooled with Malon today."

"Oh… Well, I can drive you home if you want," he offered.

Zelda paused for a moment. "Really? If it's not too much trouble…"

"Oh, no!" Link exclaimed, shaking his head. "I'd be happy to!"

They both got into his car, setting their belongings in the back seat, and Link drove both of them away as Zelda dictated the directions.

…

"This is it," Zelda proclaimed.

Link looked at her, and up at her two-story house. "Okie doke, then."

She chuckled and reached for her backpack. She was just about to open the door when she remembered something.

"Oh, yeah…" She handed him his shirt back.

Link shook his head and pushed it back toward her. "You keep it."

Zelda looked down at the clothing. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah… It was getting kind of small, anyway."

Zelda laughed and smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Link."

Link looked at the stick shift between them. "No worries."

Zelda opened the door and exited the car and gently closed it behind her. She turned around to give Link one last wave goodbye. He waved back and drove off into the distance.

…

Zelda's parents were out grocery shopping, and according to the note they left her, they would be gone until four, and it was three forty-five right now.

Zelda was laying on her bed with Link's shirt in her arms. She lifted it up to her nose and inhaled its lingering scent.

'_It smells of him,'_ she observed.

She noticed the small blood stains she had left, and ran her fingers over it. She felt the stains where the blood was rough and hard compared to the clean parts. She took one deeper inhale of the shirt and set it aside.

She opened her backpack and pulled out her history textbook and the review sheet. She began studying, and this time, kept one hundred percent of her focus on her book, for she was determined to pass this test, and pass it with flying colors.

* * *

Sorry if this chapter was boring. I used it as more of a vehicle to deepen Link and Zelda's relationship without doing anything extreme. At any rate, review, please.

* * *

End time: November 28, 2006; 11:47 PM

* * *


	5. Never Get Between a Badass and His Girl

* * *

Start time: December 2, 2006; 9:37 PM

* * *

Thanks again to the reviewers. No review goes unappreciated.

* * *

"And… Begin!" 

Upon Link's command, everyone in the classroom simultaneously flipped their test packets over and began working. Link took one last look at them before taking a seat in his chair.

After Zelda wrote her heading on the top right hand corner, she looked over the questions on the test, flipping through the pages and skimming the questions.

'_Hey… I know all of this stuff!'_

More than half the questions asked covered topics she and Link went over during their lesson that Wednesday, and the rest were some of the easiest multiple choice questions she has ever seen.

'_This is it, Link? Huh… I expected more of a challenge._'

She snickered quietly to herself, but the voice in her head spoke again.

'_Calm your cuccos, Zelda; you haven't even started the test, and already you're beginning to get cocky. Don't let that get the better of you.'_

The voice was right; she knew better than to subvert something before she actually tried it. Overconfidence and panache were sometimes the downfall to many a student during test taking, and since she was hanging on such a loose thread in this class, she wasn't about to take any chances.

At least she _thought_ she was on a loose thread.

She flipped back to the first page and read the question in her mind.

'_Explain in your own words what the Triforce is.'_

She smirked to herself and began to write.

As the class took their tests, Link was busy again on the computer.

He was looking at Zelda's dossier, reading over her academic history.

'_Zelda Harkinian  
DOB: May 19, 1990  
Blood Type: B  
Eye Color: Blue  
Hair Color: Blonde  
Height: 5'5"/65 cm  
Weight: 109 lbs/49 kg'_

Link mused to himself. Zelda was six inches shorter than he was, and twenty-six pounds lighter.

'_Student ID: 051990069  
Grade: 11  
Counselor: Impa Hosking_

_Course….Teacher….Academic….Citizenship_  
_AP Ancient Hylian History…. L. Avalon….A+….A+  
AP Calculus….I. Tingle….A+….A  
Human Psychology….N. Love….A+….A+  
AP Language: Hylian….F. Wind….A….A-  
Phys. Ed….D. Goron…A….A  
AP Ancient Hylian Literature….C. Nohansen….A….A'_

Link stared at the computer screen in amazement, seeing a straight line of some form of an "A" go straight down her transcript.

'_Damn! I never had _that_ many AP classes, and I was the top student in my Junior class! Zelda makes me feel stupid now… Oh well; people are always telling me that girls are always smarter than boys, and Zelda is living proof of that statement.'_

He ran this index finger on the scroll wheel on his mouse and continued reading.

'_Term GPA: 4.125'_

Link's jaw fell in awe. During his Junior year, his GPA was 3.925, and that was the highest for his class! Link smiled to himself.

'_Blonde hair… Purple eyes… An amazing amount of intellect… Zelda truly is the reincarnation of the Princess of Hyrule.'_

He furrowed his brows for a second. Technically, her history grade was somewhat outdated; Link had yet to enter the grades from Tuesday's quiz, so if he put in the "D" she got, her grade would be anything but an "A+." But since a "D" wasn't her actual grade, he decided he wouldn't short-change Zelda by giving her a fake score.

From the back of the room, Romani looked up from her test and saw Link staring at the computer screen with his mouth wide open. He leaned into the screen and she noticed his hand holding the computer mouse rapidly scrolling up and down whatever window he had open. Romani snickered and continued to finish her test.

'_Link, you pervert,'_ she thought to herself, having a clear image of what he was looking at, and the last thing on her mind was Zelda's academic record.

Zelda turned the page, and read the following question.

'_Number forty-five… Multiple choices… Who are the three holders of the Triforce pieces?_

_A: the King of Evil, the Princess of Hyrule, the Hero of Time  
B: Din, Nayru, Farore  
C: Jack, Janet, Chrissy  
D: Larry, Curly, Moe'_

She couldn't help but giggle at the last two choices. During the car ride to her house yesterday, Link told her that there would be some "funny" answer choices.

…

"_It's what I usually do on my students' tests," Link told her and he stopped at an intersection. "It helps relax some of the kids who are anxious about test taking. I remember when I was in elementary school; I used to be like that: I'd always be nervous about how well I'd do."_

_She turned to him. "Really?"_

_He nodded. "I know how it feels to be in that position and I wanted to make sure it didn't happen to any of my students, since I have a first-hand perception of test anxiety. I figured that if it helps them loosen up a bit, if only a little, it's worth the silliness."_

_She smiled warmly at him. "That's really sweet of you."_

_He blushed slightly and winked at her._

"_Anything for a student of mine."_

She clicked more lead out of her mechanical pencil and circled "A." She paused for a moment, and she wrote a little message to Link next to the last two choices.

"_Ha-ha, Link."_ She wrote with a happy face next to his name.

She tucked a few strands behind her ear and continued with the last five questions.

…

Five minutes left into the period, and Link was waiting for the remainder of the class to turn their tests in. As he expected, Zelda was the first to finish.

He sighed quietly, trying not to sound rude to the remaining students. He remembered in first grade that he was usually the last kid in the class to finish a test, and the teacher would always sigh loudly and tap their fingers and glare at him with a look that practically yelled, "could you be any slower!?".

He began twirling his pencil between his index and middle finger and eyed the class through the messy blonde locks that hung in front of his eyes.

"If you need to," Link spoke, breaking the silence, "you can come in during lunch to finish. Just get your food and come in, and I'll let you complete your test while you eat. I'd be more than happy to stay with you."

Zelda cursed in her head and bit her lower lip at his offer to the other students.

'_Damn! I would have taken a longer time on mine if I knew he was going to do that…'_

2:19 PM: AFTERSCHOOL

While Zelda was waiting in the lunch line earlier, Link approached her, telling her that he wanted to speak with her after school. He sounded very happy, as if he had the best news in store for her.

After that, the fact that Link had something so urgent to speak to her was the only thing getting her through her last two periods. That, and the weekend, of course.

Zelda climbed up the stairs, making her way past the many students running down the staircase, exuberantly proclaiming that it was finally time for a much deserved weekend off from school. She made her way to the open door to Link's room and saw him taking Nabooru's test from her.

"Thank you, Nabooru," he said to her. "Have a nice weekend."

She waved goodbye and walked out the door. Before she left, she leaned into Zelda and whispered into her ear.

"He's… So… FINE!"

And with that, she ran down the stairs in a lovesick tizzy.

Zelda laughed to herself and she leaned on to the doorframe, watching Link fix up his desk. He began whistling to himself as he stacked up folders and put them in his backpack, unaware of her presence.

After a little while, she knocked on the open door softly.

"Knock, knock." She spoke, saying the onomatopoeia of the sound.

Link looked up and saw her smiling at him.

"Hi Zel," he greeted using her nickname.

She waved back, using spirit fingers as she did so. "Hi… May I come in?"

He nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "Sure."

She slowly walked in and leaned on his desk, supporting herself with her hands on the surface of the table.

"How's your cut?" He asked as he continued to clean up.

"Oh… I dunno. I haven't looked at it since yesterday…" She replied.

Link raised an eyebrow. "Well let's take a look, shall we?"

Without waiting for a reply, he set the textbook in his hand on his chair and took her hand in his. He slowly peeled off the band-aid and saw that the long, narrow cut has nearly healed. The cut was almost sealed, and small stains of dried blood covered it.

"How does it look?" Zelda asked him. Link held up her finger and showed the cut to her.

"That was a pretty quick recovery, even for a manila folder cut," Link observed. He licked his thumb and wiped away the remnants of the blood off her finger. Link peeled the entire band-aid off of her finger and tossed it into a nearby trashcan.

"All better," Link spoke, smiling at her.

Zelda blushed slightly. "Thank you…"

In the back of his mind, Link mentally fought over the decision of whether he should or he shouldn't.

'_Oh well… Here goes.'_

He held her finger up to his lips and kissed it softly.

Zelda's heart almost melted for the billionth time in less than a week at that moment. She shuddered and felt goose bumps creep onto her skin as she felt his warm lips press onto her index finger.

Zelda shook her head softly.

"So um… Anyway…" She began nervously. "What did you want to talk to me about again?"

Link slowly let go of her hands and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh yeah… It was about your test…"

Zelda's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Oh?"

Link nodded and opened the tab folder on his desk and began flipping through test papers. Once he found her test, he handed it to her with a wide beam across his face.

"I think you'll like it."

Zelda took it from him and stared at the front. The first thing she saw was a letter written in blue ink.

"An 'A'!" Zelda cried.

Link chuckled at her. "'A' _plus_," he added, emphasizing the 'plus'.

Zelda began laughing and almost broke out into a dance. "'A+'!"

Before she knew it, she was latched onto Link, taking him into a giant hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" Zelda squealed.

Link was taken aback by her embrace and slowly snaked his strong arms around her waist.

"Don't thank me; you've earned it."

He glanced down at her and was met with her two glittering violet eyes. He noticed tears forming in her eyes, and he softly wiped them away with his thumb.

With apprehension, he slowly attempted to close the space between their lips. In that instant, his mind was cleared of the repercussions of what would happen should a relationship develop between them. The voice in his head was shut out, and his head was devoid of any rational thought; his emotions were now in control.

Zelda stared deeply into his azure eyes. As if they had some sort of magnetic pull on her, she leaned into him as well, slowly but surely. Their lips were barely millimeters away from touching. She could feel his hot breath on her face; it sent shockwaves into her veins. Just as Link was about to close the literally microscopic gap between their lips, the damned voice of reason piped up.

'_Zelda, NO!'_

She quickly pulled away from him, rationale slowly beginning to take over her actions again. She turned her head to the side, trying to hide her shame.

She gently pried his arms off of her waist and stepped away from him. Link was frozen in place, staring into nothingness. He hung his head in defeat.

'_So close! So _fucking_ close!'_ He mentally slapped himself.

Zelda wiped away the tears that Link had missed. She looked down at her test paper and read what Link had written.

'_Good job, Zel! I knew you could do it. Always shoot for the moon, Zelda. But it doesn't matter if you make it or not, because to me, you'll always be one of the stars.'_

There was very long, deafening silence between them after that. Neither of them spoke, or made any sound for that matter. Only their breathing could be heard, but even then, they were less than two feet away from each other and even to them, their own breathing was barely inaudible.

It wasn't until three, long, _torturous_ minutes when Zelda spoke softly.

"I… I should be getting home…"

She picked up her backpack and slowly walked out the door.

Link looked up and watched her walk out of the room. She closed the door softly behind her, and heard her footsteps slowly fade out of his earshot.

Link's fists slowly balled up and he began shaking in utter frustration.

Without thinking, he forcefully punched the wall so hard that the clock hanging on it fell to the ground, the batteries popping out of the back.

"FUCK!"

ZELDA'S HOUSE

Zelda's parents were out of town for a weekend for her father's golf tournament, leaving the house in Zelda's care. They told her that if she wanted, she could spend the night at a friend's house, and Zelda was still debating over who she would crash with.

Zelda was up in her room, sprawled on her bed with Link's shirt in her arms. His intoxicating scent still lingered onto the fabric.

"I was so close to kissing him! Why did I pull away!?"

She had been mentally arguing with herself over the matter since she had gotten home; it was tearing her apart.

'_I'll tell you why: because he is your _teacher_, Zelda! How could you be so stupid for even _thinking _that there could be something between you two!?'_

"It isn't possible…" Zelda started. "But it's certainly not _im_possible! I mean… Isn't it _Link_ who tried to kiss _me_?"

'_That's not the point, Zelda! The bottom line is that Link is nothing to you but a teacher, and as long as you're under his instruction, there can be _nothing_ between you two!'_

Zelda almost started crying at the sharp words her mind was telling her.

'_As long as you're under his instruction, there can be _nothing_ between you two!'_

It was all too much; at that moment, she began crying. She sobbed uncontrollably into Link's shirt. She stayed like that for a little while until her tears eventually subsided.

Then, her eyes widened.

'_As long as you're under his instruction, there can be _nothing_ between you two!'_

She repeated the words out loud.

"As long as I'm under his instruction…"

She reiterated the words over and over.

"Link is only a substitute teacher, and his contract with Principal Rauru expired today! As long as I'm under his instruction… There can be nothing between us!"

She ran downstairs and grabbed her cell phone and the Hylian Yellow Pages. She slammed the phonebook on the table and began flipping for a certain last name that began with "A."

Zelda had just found the biggest loop hole in one of Hylian society's worst taboos.

LINK'S HOUSE

"In today's news…"

_Switch._

"You little bitch!"

_Switch._

"Oh my god; you killed Kenny!"

_Switch._

"Next: men who wear…"

_Switch_.

Link had gone surfing through every channel for the past thirty minutes, and he couldn't find a single show to watch. Finally deciding that he would not watch television, he turned the TV off.

He set the remote aside and sighed to himself. He grabbed a throw pillow and held it closely to his naked chest.

He was clad in a just a pair of black shorts and a gold and platinum necklace that his parents had gotten him for a high school graduation present for being his class valedictorian.

He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling.

'_Why'd you have to pull away, Zelda?'_

He sighed loudly when the house phone began ringing. He jumped slightly in his seat and looked over to the phone on the dining table. He lazily climbed out off the sofa and walked over to the phone. He looked at the caller ID.

"_Unknown."_

He chuckled to himself.

"It better not be that Samara girl or something…" He joked to himself.

He pressed the 'talk' button and spoke into the mouth piece.

"Hello?"

"_Hello, Link?"_

He knew that voice: Zelda.

"Z-Zel?" He spoke in disbelief. "How did you get my phone number?"

"_The phone book."_

Link smirked at Zelda's curiosity. "Cool. So… What can I help you with?"

"_Actually… I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight."_

Link cocked an eyebrow at her question. He took at seat at the dining table and leaned on the table.

"Why?"

"_Well… It's just that today was your last day teaching… And I thought that we'd spend some time before Monday rolls along and Madame Din comes back."_

Link furrowed his brows. "Actually, Zel… About that…"

But Zelda cut him off. _"So? Yes or no?"_

Link smiled. "Sure, Zel, I'd love to do that. What time should I come over?"

"_Um… How about six-ish?"_

He looked up at the clock. It was five twenty-six."

"Okay," Link replied. "I'll be over at six."

"_Okay! Do you still remember my address?"_

"Yeah." Link stood up and stretched a little.

"_Alrighty. I'll be waiting..."_

And with that, Zelda hung up.

Link smirked and turned off the phone.

"Doesn't anyone ever say 'goodbye' anymore?"

ZELDA'S HOUSE

Link parked in Zelda's driveway, and turned the engine off. He checked his watch. "6:03 PM."

He pulled his keys out of the ignition and get out of the car. He locked the doors and walked over to the front door. He ran a hand through his hair and pressed on the doorbell.

A few moments later, the door opened.

Before Link stood Zelda dressed in a white sleeveless top that hugged her figure, black form fitting flared leather pants, black block-heeled boots, and her blonde hair was teased and curled at the ends.

Zelda stared at the young man, He was wearing a white Lacoste polo shirt, a beige Quiksilver jacket, dark blue jeans and black Converse shoes, and his blonde hair was tousled and messy, as always.

"Hi Link," Zelda spoke.

He waved and smiled lopsidedly in response. "Hey," he replied softly. Zelda reached for her house keys and closed the door, locking it behind her.

They both walked adjacent to each other towards his car. Link opened the door for her, and helped her in.

"Thank you," she said. Link nodded in reply and closed the door.

He got into the driver's seat and closed the door next to him.

"Where are we going?" Zelda asked him.

Link raised an eyebrow, slightly annoyed.

'_Wasn't this _your_ idea?'_

"Well…" Link started. He looked down at his lap and thought for a second. "There's this really nice restaurant I frequent… I think you'll like it."

Zelda smiled and nodded. "Okay."

Link started the car and slowly pulled out of the driveway.

ERROR'S CAFÉ

"Error?" Zelda asked puzzled. "That's an odd name."

Link chuckled. "It may be a strange name, but he's a really nice guy."

Link pulled open the door and allowed Zelda in. She entered, followed by him, and he slowly closed the door behind him.

The restaurant was rather warm and cozy, in the sense that it was a rather intimate setting; most of the tables accommodated no more than four people. The place was dimly lit adding to the friendly air of the place. It wasn't really crowded, and like the name implied, it looked more like a café than it did a restaurant; there were giant stone fireplaces, people were in little sitting areas, working on their laptops, talking to each other amongst a cup of coffee, and relaxing in the midst of the fireplace's warmth. Link was right; Zelda was beginning to like the place already.

"Hey Link," a waitress greeted him.

"Hey Navi," he replied. He turned to Zelda and nudged her forward. "Zelda, this is Navi. She's been a really good friend of mine since I was ten. Navi, Zelda's a student of mine."

Navi and Zelda smiled and shook hands.

"Hello, Zelda."

"Nice to meet you, Navi."

"So Link…" Navi began. "A student, eh? Where at?"

"Hyrule High," Link replied. "I've been subbing Din's history class this week. You remember her, right?"

Navi nodded. "I sure do. She was such a bitch!" Navi exclaimed, whispering the last word so only Link and Zelda could hear her. They both laughed at the waitress.

"But really though!" Navi added. "She'd always yell her freakin' lungs out whenever you're late or something…"

Zelda rubbed the back of her neck at that. "I know the feeling…"

The two girls chuckled at that.

"Well, anyway," Navi started. "I'll show you two to your table." She grabbed two menus from behind her and escorted the pair to a table for two near a fireplace.

Link pulled a chair open for Zelda and he took a seat across from her. Navi pulled a pen and notepad from her pocket and readied herself to take their orders.

"Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Link skimmed his menu slowly. "I'll have a decaf coffee, Navi."

She wrote down his order on the paper and turned to Zelda. "And you?"

"Hot chocolate, please." Zelda requested. Navi nodded and stuffed the items back in her pocket.

"Sure thing," Navi replied. And with that, she walked away into the kitchen.

Link took off his jacket and Zelda stood up, standing in front of the fireplace, watching the flames slowly incinerate the wood.

"Navi sure picked a prime spot for us to sit," Zelda spoke.

Link reclined into his seat, waving at an acquaintance from across the room. "This is my own table."

Zelda raised an eyebrow, trying to warm herself up. "Is it really?"

Link nodded. "I reserve it. Whenever I stop by here, this table's always open."

Zelda smiled. "That's cool…"

She went back to her seat and picked up her purse. "I'm going to the ladies room for a minute."

Link nodded and scratched his head. "Okay. It's over there." He pointed to his left to the restrooms.

Zelda thanked him and walked over to the women's room, entering it.

A few minutes later, Navi came back with their drinks.

"Here you go, Link." She set a saucer with a mug full of decaf coffee and placed a handful of sugar, milk, and cream next to it. "And here's Zelda's hot chocolate." She placed Zelda's drink on her side of the table and pushed Zelda's seat in.

"Thanks Navi," Link said. He stirred in some sugar and cream into his coffee as Navi watched him. Feeling eyes on him as he stirred, he paused for a second and looked up to see Navi staring at him mischievously.

"…What?" Link asked confused.

"Do you like her?" Navi asked, referring to Zelda.

Link knew who she was talking about, and let go of his spoon. "I-I don't know. I guess."

Navi raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"

Link sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I like her. No, wait- I _love_ her Navi. I've never felt this way about any girl in my life before. I even faked her grade to make her think she was failing to have an excuse to spend some time with her…"

Navi snickered and pulled a seat next to him. "Wow, Link… You've done some crazy crap just to get close to a girl before, but _that_ has to be the craziest…"

"Whatever…"

"And on a student, no less…"

"Would you be quiet, Navi? That makes it even worse for me…" Link complained irritated.

Navi sighed. "Look Link… You love her, right?"

Link nodded silently.

"Well… I say you should go for it," Navi urged.

"But… the taboo!" Link countered.

"Who cares out the freakin' taboo!?" Navi cried.

Link opened his mouth to say something, but came up short.

"You love her, and that's that. Ever hear of 'love conquers all'? It's true, Link. I've had lots of friends, who have fallen in love, but something always came up, and no matter what, they were able to overcome that obstacle, and now, even some are married!" Navi reasoned.

Link thought about that quietly.

"If you love her as much as you claim you wouldn't let _anything_ get in the way of that. At least that's the Link I know. The Link I know is a badass who won't let something as stupid as the forbidden student-teacher relationship bullcrap get in the way of him and his girl." Navi told her.

Link looked up at his friend and smiled. "…Thanks, Navi."

She rested an assuring hand on his shoulder. "No problem, Link. Just remember… Even if no one approves of your relationship- should it happen- …I'll always be there for you."

Link hugged Navi softly and let her go. "Thanks. I really needed that."

"What are you two talking about?"

The both turned around to see Zelda looking at both of them. "Hmm?"

Navi smiled at her. "Oh, nothing. Just catching up on some current events."

Zelda nodded. "Oh."

"Well, Zelda… Your hot chocolate is over there, and I'll be back in a minute to get your order." And with that, Navi left the table.

Zelda took a seat at her chair and gazed at the fireplace, watching the red flames dance in an almost rhythmic manner.

Link set his mug down and looked deep into the now dark brown liquid inside.

'_The Link I know is a badass who won't let something as stupid as the forbidden student-teacher relationship bullcrap get in the way of him and his girl.'_

Link mused to himself.

'_A 'badass', eh?'_

ZELDA'S HOUSE

"Thanks, Link. I had a really great time."

Link beamed warmly at her. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

Zelda looked down at her feet, feeling the seatbelt across her chest nervously.

"Do you live alone, Link?" Zelda asked him.

Link nodded slowly. "Yeah. Why?"

Zelda smiled to herself at his answer.

_'So far, so good...' _She thought.

"Does it ever get lonely? Just you in the house?" She asked again.

Link raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes, I suppose…"

'_Where is she going with this?'_ Link pondered.

'_I wonder if he'll let me…?'_ Zelda wondered to herself.

She then remembered what her mom told her earlier that week.

'_You'll never know what will happen if you don't try. What's life without taking chances?'_

"Link…" Zelda started.

He turned to her. "Hmm?"

"Well, my parents are out of town for this weekend, and I'll be alone at home too…"

Link leaned in, interested in what she had to say. "And…?"

Zelda inhaled sharply before asking her question.

"You want a roommate for the weekend?"

* * *

How was the chapter? Did you like it? Did you love it? Did you dislike it? Did you hate it? Anyway, review, please.

* * *

End time: December 3, 2006; 12:41 AM

* * *


	6. Rendezvous Beneath the Blankets

* * *

Start Time: December 3, 2006; 12:00 PM PST

* * *

I thought that I'd get started on this chapter as soon as I finished chapter five. Thank again to the reviewers and readers. I checked the progress of this story in the stats section this morning (around nine), and chapter five got around three hundred hits within the first nine hours of its release. Keep it up, people! Also, if you know anyone with a liking to Link/Zelda stories, you should recommend this to them. And tell them to review, also! Anyway, I just want to say thanks again. 

Also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I start every chapter with some sort of dialogue, whether it's a thought or someone speaking. I'm just saying is all.

* * *

"Excuse me?" 

Link was in disbelief at her question.

Zelda looked down, ashamed of herself for asking.

'_I might as well explain myself at this point…'_

"It's just that… What if I'm sleeping in my room, and then all of a sudden someone creeps in and… takes advantage of me?"

Link snickered in his mind, the dirty adolescent within him making an off-color joke.

'_You want to spend the weekend at my house in hopes that I'll protect you from a seducer? Heh… That still doesn't solve your problem…'_

Link mentally slapped down whatever sick fantasy of him taking her in her bed in the moonlight.

"Well…" Link started apprehensively. "Will your parents allow you to spend the night at a guy's house? I don't want you to get in trouble or anything…"

"Oh, no! They even told me that if I wanted, I could spend the weekend at a friend's house! And… you're my friend… right?"

He saw her eyes twinkle with hope harbored in their depths, almost begging for him to say 'yes'.

'_She's really serious about this, huh?"_

He sighed, giving into her request.

"Fine," he simply stated.

Zelda grinned widely. "I can!?"

Link smiled weakly. "Sure, why not?"

Zelda giggled happily and unbuckled her seatbelt, leaning in to hug him tightly.

"Thank you!" She cried.

She let go of him and opened the car door. "I'll get my stuff!" And with that, she slammed the door shut and ran into the house in joy.

Link shook his head, smirking and reclined in his seat.

"Link…" He spoke aloud. "You're in for one hell of a ride this weekend."

The perverted little boy in him piped up again, snickering dubiously.

'_You got that right, son; I mean… with a body like hers…'_

Link shook his head rapidly.

"Shut the hell up," he muttered under his breath.

DOWNTOWN HYRULE CASTLE TOWN

Hyrule Castle Town is the largest city in Hyule in both terms of land area and population; it occupies 2444 square miles, and is home to twelve million people, and the population increases by two million during the day when workers and students commute from adjacent areas. It is also the most populated city in the world, followed by Kakariko Village with eight million people and Clock Town in Termina with three million people rounding up the top three respectively. It is bounded by Death Mountain to the east, the national borders with Holodrum to the north, a mountain range to the west, and the Gateway to Lifelong Happiness to the south, a city gate that separated the city from Hyrule Field that served as protection for the city during Hyrule's midieval age, and was named after the population boom to the city after the King of Evil's defeat when people migrated to the city in search of "lifelong happiness". It is the seat of the Hylian Government and Hyrule Castle, home of the Hylian Royal Family, making it the de facto capital of Hyrule.

It is the center of commerce, culture, education, and politics in Hyrule, with many of Hyrule's national landmarks and cultural centers within the city's boundaries, such as the Temple of Time, Hyrule University, the Hylian National Diet, the Hylian International Zoo, the Museum of Hylian History, the Hyrule Castle Town Metropolitan Art Museum, and the aforementioned Hyrule Castle.

The city is also the main hub for Hyrule's domestic and international transportation. The main gateway for international travelers is Rinku International Airport, the second being Sheikah International Airport in Kakariko Village. Handling mainly domestic flights in the city is Hyrule International Airport, the main gateway for travelers before Rinku Airport was built and took over. Hyrule International Airport is the busiest airport in the world, despite the fact that all of its flights are within Hyrule alone. Railway is the primary mode for transportation in the city, and hosts the most extensive and busiest railway in the world. Hyrule Castle Station, the subway station in front of the castle, is the world's busiest subway and train station, serving two million people during both the morning and evening commute every day, due to the fact that more and half of the city's office buildings are packed together around the castle. The HCT Metropolitan Subway System connects Hyrule Castle Town with with the many stations scattered throughout the city, and links itself with Kakariko Village to the east via Purple Line, Zora's Domain to the southeast with the White Line, Goron City to the northeast by means of the Red Line, Hylia Village to the southwest by the use of the Blue Line, and Gerudo Valley-Fortress to the west through the Orange Line. The lines were color coded representing the natural element of the area: purple representing shadow, red representing fire, white representing ice, blue representing water, and orange representing spirit. There are also transcontinental routes to the neighboring countries of Termina, Labrynna, and Holodrum, with Koholint Island only accessible through Rinku or Sheikah International Airport as it is too remote in the ocean for a connecting railway.

"You live in a condominium complex?" Zelda asked.

Link and Zelda walked out of the parking garage where Link parked his car. Zelda adjusted her backpack filled with a weekend's worth of clothes over her shoulder and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.

It was eight forty-six, and the night was still young, especially for a Friday evening. Cars drove by speedily, and the street lights illuminated the sidewalks. Many young adults, people who looked like college students, loitered on the sidewalks, many on their way to the numerous night clubs that littered the downtown street scene. Many of the skyscrapers and hi-rises had their lights on, lighting up the night sky above them. The crisp, chilly winter air swept pass them, causing Zelda to shiver violently, for she had no jacket, and the one she brought was in her backpack.

"Yeah," Link replied. He noticed her shuddering stopped to take his jacket off his body and wrapped it around Zelda's torso. She thanked him softly and slipped her arms into the sleeves and pulled up the zipper. He picked up her backpack for her and they continued walking. "I really don't need a full-sized house right now, seeing as how I live by myself."

They walked down the street and stopped in front of a beige, white, and blue Mediterranean styled residential hi-rise.

"This is it," Link stated.

They walked up the steps and the doormen opened the doors from them, tipping their hats as they entered.

The temperature suddenly rose to normal heights. There was a large sitting area to their right with giant cream colored leather sofas and a giant marble fireplace, and to the right was a reception desk with female clerks in navy colored uniforms behind it.

"Hi Link," a few girls spoke as they saw him enter the lobby.

Link smiled and waved to them as he led Zelda to the elevators.

"They're tenants in this building," Link told Zelda. She nodded and they stopped in front of two steel elevator doors. Link pressed the 'up' button and a few seconds later, the elevator 'pinged and the doors slid open. A few people stepped outside, waving to Link as they passed by him. The two entered and Link pressed the button for the twenty-first floor.

They stood in silence in the middle of the elevator.

"How long have you been living here?" Zelda finally asked.

Link thought about it and scratched his head. "College Freshman year, I think… Yeah, about that time. Hyrule University is in this area, and I decided to get a condo in this building since it was situated near the campus."

"You didn't live in a dorm there?" Zelda raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "Nope; too many wild parties. I'm afraid I might get an STD if I even touch those beds; who knows what people could have been doing on those mattresses."

Zelda giggled. "As if you've never been to one of those parties, right?"

Link raised both his eyebrows and chuckled. "Touché, Zel."

She shook her head. "I thought as much…"

He whirled around to look at her. "Hey! I didn't… You know…"

She cocked up an eyebrow. "No, I don't know."

He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "You know…" He let out a sexual sounding grunt and quickly made a pumping motion.

Zelda cringed at that. "Eww, you did!?"

He shook his head rapidly. "No! I said I didn't!"

Zelda rolled her eyes, trying to control her laughter. "Right, Link."

"I didn't!" He protested childishly.

She patted Link on the back trying to calm him down. "I believe you! If you said you didn't… Then you didn't!"

Link eyed her suspiciously. "Yeah, yeah…"

They both laughed softly when, as if on cue, the elevator 'pinged again and the doors opened. Zelda exited first followed by Link, and he led the way down a quiet corridor.

Zelda took in her surroundings. The hallway was rather modern and contemporary modeled. The rooms' numbers were on floor panels at the bottom of the doors like welcome mats that lit up as you passed by them, as if they sensed your presence. She then bumped into Link softly for she wasn't paying attention to what was in front of her.

"Sorry," she apologized. He smiled reassuringly at her. "S'ok."

"Why'd we stop?" She asked.

"We're here," he replied.

She turned to her right and saw a white door with a small surveillance camera at the top.

Link reached into his pockets and pulled out his door key. He inserted it into the slot on the doorknob and turned it to the right. He pulled out the key and opened the door.

Zelda noticed that the room number on the lit floor panel at her feet faded away and was replaced with elegant cursive writing that read "WELCOME."

She gasped in amazement and tapped Link on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" He murmured softly. He saw her pointing at the ground and saw the "WELCOME" message fade away and the room number returned.

"That's so cool," Zelda remarked.

Link laughed at her. "I know, right? That's part of the reason why I bought a condo here."

He let Zelda into the dark room. Link felt the wall for the light switch, and once he felt it, he flipped it on. In that instant, all the lights in the room turned on.

It was a rather large condo; there was a lot of floor space covered with a cream colored carpet, and it looked as if Link had just moved in. Even for one person living here, it was sparsely furnished. It really had only the necessities he need to get by, with some indulgences here and there. There was a big, white suede sofa that doubled as a daybed, and in front of it was a medium sized wall mounted LCD television over a small home theatre stereo set, but large enough for some decent surround sound quality, and next to it was an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo Wii. On the other side of the room was a small dining table that sat four people, and the surface was cluttered with papers and his folded iMac laptop, and a kitchenette with a stove, a toaster, a microwave, a mini-refrigerator, a dishwasher and a sink. On the ceiling was the recessed lighting fixtures, and the walls were rather bare, with the exceptions of Link's framed high school and college diplomas and his credentials in the field of history and a few family portraits, and some casual pictures with friends.

"I like your place," Zelda complimented him.

He shrugged and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of his face. "It's not much… But its home."

Zelda set her backpack on the carpet and plopped tiredly on the sofa.

"How'd you afford everything?" Zelda asked him.

"My own money," Link replied, setting his keys and his iPod nano on the coffee table, "and my parents send me some rupees on a regular basis."

Zelda smiled. "It must be a lot if you're able to have all of this…"

He shrugged again and sat next to her. "I suppose… My dad was an officer in the Hylian Navy."

"Really? What was his rank?"

Link thought about it and scratched his chin. "Lieutenant Commander, I think… Plus, my mom was a nurse, so I guess they both raked in some serious cash."

Zelda smirked and rested her head on his shoulder. "You were rich?"

Link chuckled. "Barely. We were more upper middle class than rich if that makes any sense."

Zelda laughed softly. "I guess it does."

She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked up at him. "Where do I sleep?"

Link snickered and got off the sofa. He picked up her backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He helped her off the couch to her feet. "Over here." He walked over to a door and opened it. He walked in and turned on the lights. Zelda stepped in slowly. There was a king sized mattress next to the wall to the right of the door and on the left side was a nightstand with a digital alarm clock and a lamp on it. On the left wall was a closet with a clothes hamper and a wall mirror inside it. There was a small white board on the wall facing the door next to a corkboard with pictures and papers pinned to it. On the right wall, there was a patio door that led to a balcony offering a view of the city and nearby Lake Hylia.

"You can sleep in my room," Link told her.

"But where will you sleep?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it; the sofa outside pulls out into a bed."

Zelda nodded and sat on the giant bed. He set her backpack on the mattress next to her and he took off his shoes and placed them on his shoe rack inside the closet.

"I'll show you the bathroom," Link motioned for her to follow him. Zelda got off the bed and walked behind him out of the room. He walked across the room to another closed door and opened it. He turned the lights on and led her inside.

The counter, sink and mirror were right in front of the door, and to the left was a toilet and bathtub. Perpendicular to the sink was a medicine cabinet with a mirror on the door.

"Thanks, Link. I hope I'm not being too much of a burden…" Zelda spoke softly. Link shook his head and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"No trouble at all," Link told her reassuringly. "In fact, I'm kind of happy you're here."

She looked up at him and he flashed a pearly white smile at her. She giggled and lifted his hands off of her. "Thanks."

Link turned off the lights and they both walked out of the bathroom. Zelda sat on the sofa again and turned the television on.

"Do you want anything to drink, Zel?" Link called from the kitchen.

"Um… What do you have?" Zelda asked.

"Water…" Link replied. He opened the refrigerator and rummaged through the soda cans and beer bottles. "Pepsi… Coke… Sprite… Slice… Doubleshot… Mocha Frappucino... You want some beer?"

Zelda looked at him with a raised eyebrow and scoffed jokingly.

"Come on, Zel; it's Budweiser…" Link tempted.

Zelda laughed and shook her head. "Sprite is fine, thank you."

Link shrugged and got a can of Sprite out for Zelda and a water bottle for himself and closed the fridge.

He handed her the cold can as he opened his bottle of water with one hand.

"Thanks," she said, taking the can. She opened it and took a sip of the soda.

Link guzzled down his water and closed the cap, placing the bottle on the coffee table. "I'm gonna take a shower, okay?" He told her. Zelda nodded in reply and changed the channel.

"Make yourself at home," Link spoke before going into the bathroom. She heard the lock click and the water begin to run.

After a few minutes, Zelda turned off the television and finished the rest of her soda. Her eyes caught sight of his silver iPod, and, letting curiosity get the better of her, reached for it and took it in her hands. She turned it on and began looking through the music artists, reading the names out loud. Link had a very… eclectic and diverse taste in music to say the least, and what was more amazing was that most of the artists on his iPod were the artists she listened to.

She turned it off and set back where it was. She went back into Link's room and sat on the bedside, looking at his closet. She stood up and walked over to it. She knelt down and rummaged through his dirty clothes. She saw all sorts of clothing brands as she delved into the pile of clothes.

"Quiksilver… Billabong… O'Neill… Hurley… Old Navy… American Eagle… Aeropostale… Abercrombie and Fitch… Hollister… Banana Republic… Dolce and Gabanna… Armani… Lacoste…"

She opened a drawer and found numerous pairs of socks and clean boxers. She dug through the articles of clothing when she felt some sort of paper. She pulled out some of his socks and boxers and found a "dirty magazine" titled "VIXEN" with a nude woman on the front.

"Oh my Goddesses!" Zelda cried in terror, and quickly shoved the underwear back into the drawer and shut it closed.

She found another drawer, and with hesitation, she slowly pulled it open. Inside were all of Link's white ribbed tank tops and T-shirts. She heard a muffled rustling sound beneath all the clothing. She dug through the tank tops and found some small wrappers with some circular object inside. She turned it around and read label.

"Pre-lubricated… Condoms!?"

She thought back to their conversation in the elevator earlier.

'_He whirled around to look at her. "Hey! I didn't… You know…"_

_She cocked up an eyebrow. "No, I don't know."_

_He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "You know…" He let out a sexual sounding grunt and quickly made a pumping motion._

_Zelda cringed at that. "Eww, you did!?"_

_He shook his head rapidly. "No! I said I didn't!"_

_Zelda rolled her eyes, trying to control her laughter. "Right, Link."_

"_I didn't!" He protested childishly._

_She patted Link on the back trying to calm him down. "I believe you! If you said you didn't… Then you didn't!"_

_Link eyed her suspiciously. "Yeah, yeah…"'_

Zelda scoffed loudly.

"Didn't my ass!"

She stuffed the condom back with the others under the tank tops and T-shirts and closed the drawer.

"What are you doing?"

Zelda yelped in shock and whirled around so fast she fell back into Link's pile of clothes. Before her stood Link with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his waist and the clothes he was wearing bunched up under his arm. Tiny droplets of water glistened over his tan skin and some fell from his wet hair.

Zelda blushed a deep tomato red at the sight of the almost naked man in front of her.

"Um… Nothing…" She lied.

He raised and eyebrow and shrugged it off. He extended an arm out to help her up. Zelda took it and he pulled up so that she was standing on her feet.

She wiped her wet hand on her top and walked over to the mattress to sit down on it. Link bent down and opened his underwear drawer for some boxers and closed the drawer. He slipped them on with the towel still around his waist. He looked over to Zelda, who was staring at him intently as he changed. He blushed softly and slowly unwrapped the towel off of him, throwing it on the mattress next to Zelda.

Zelda's eyes subconsciously wandered to his pubic region and noticed a slight bulge inside his boxers, to which her already red cheeks became ten shades darker, if that were possible.

Link reached over for a pair of green shorts and pulled them up his legs.

"Your legs are hairy," Zelda spoke.

Link looked at her, smiling. "What?"

"You have hairy legs," she reiterated.

Link looked down at his legs and saw faint hairs growing.

"Well, I don't shave my legs," he replied, slipping a tank top over his head and pulling it down so it covered his torso.

"Why not?" She asked.

Link reached for his towel and dried off his hair. "I dunno. I just don't. I shave my face, though."

Zelda reached out and ran a hand softly over his cheek. She felt some stubble poking at her skin. "It feels funny," she observed.

Link chuckled and rubbed his chin. "Yeah… I didn't shave this morning."

Zelda smiled and stood up. "You take long showers, too."

Link rolled his eyes at her. "Well _excuse_ me, princess. Some of us care about our personal hygiene."

Zelda laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

'_It feels nice to be this close to him,'_ she thought to herself.

Link didn't say anything; in response, he wound his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Zelda smiled and rested her head against his chest. She unwrapped her arms from his neck and placed her hands on his chest, pushing herself deeper into his warmth.

"I'm sleepy," she whispered softly.

"Are you?" Link whispered back, resting his cheek on her head,

She nodded and yawned gently. Link chuckled and lifted his head off of hers to check the time on the digital clock.

'_11:56 PM'_

Link reluctantly let her go and moved over to the mattress. He pulled her backpack off the bed and set it on the floor and pulled the comforter down for her. Zelda thanked him and he walked over to the door.

"Good night, Zelda…"

Zelda looked over to him and smiled. "Good night, Link."

Link took one last look at her and closed the door softly.

He turned off the kitchen lights and walked over to the coffee table. He pulled it aside and took off the seat cushions. He pulled out the mattress and pulled open the kickstands. He walked over to a closet and pulled out a bunch of pillows and blankets and closed the door. He walked back to the sofa bed and threw the pillows and blankets on it.

He turned the last of the lights off, and in the darkness, arranged the pillows and the blankets. He took off the tank top he was wearing and carelessly tossed it aside. He got on the mattress and pulled the blanket over him. Almost immediately he fell asleep, and the last thing he saw was the lights from his room go out from the crack under the door.

2:16 AM

That entire night, Zelda had been restless. She tried just about everything she knew to try to help her sleep, but to no avail. Every time she tired to fall asleep, her mind wouldn't let her. She felt strangely empty inside. She felt horribly incomplete, and there was only one person in the world that could fill that emptiness she felt.

With only the moonlight lighting the way through the curtains on the window, and wearing nothing but a slinky nightie, Zelda pushed the comforters off of her body and got off the bed. Before she tip toed her way over to the door and quietly opened it, she stopped by Link's closet, wanting to get something.

The living room was dead quiet with the exception of Link's soft snoring. She stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her and slowly made her way over to Link. Almost tripping on the cushions, she broke her own fall by supporting her weight on another just before she hit the ground. She spotted Link's discarded tank top. She took it in her hands and held it up to her nose, inhaling the enduring scent deeply. She placed the clothing on a coffee table and hovered over Link. She took her hand and placed it on his bare shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Link…"

Link didn't stir, though. He groaned softly, and turned over, subconsciously pulling the blankets closer to him.

Zelda began shaking him marginally harder. "Link…" She repeated.

Link's eyes slowly opened. He looked up at the clock.

'_2:18 AM'_

Irritated that he was awoken so late at night, or so early in the morning, he turned around with a look of annoyance, only to be met with Zelda's sparking violet eyes. He inhaled sharply when he saw her.

She was dressed in a translucent baby blue night gown. It was solid enough to cover her revealing body parts, but it was see-through enough that every outline and curve of her body was visible. In one of the pockets of her dress, he noticed the silhouette of a small square object. Link breathed heavily at the sight of her body. Trying not to look _too_ much of a peeping tom, he diverted his eyes back up to her eyes.

"Zelda…" He spoke softly.

"I… I wanted to know what you were doing…" Was all she could come up with in reply.

''_I wanted to know what you were doing.'? At two fifteen in the morning? Wow, Zelda: you're reached an all-time lame,"_ she thought to herself, mentally kicking herself in the ass.

"Is… Is something wrong?" He whispered concerned.

"I can't sleep…" She admitted softly.

He sat up, the blanket falling down his chest, exposing his bare, hairless pectorals.

"Come here," he beckoned.

Zelda complied and crawled into the bed next to him. She crept into his arms and hugged him, desperate for his heat.

Link snaked his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. He felt her body heat from under the flimsy material of her nightie. It was as if she wasn't wearing anything to begin with.

"Would you feel better… If you slept with me?" Link asked her.

She looked up at him, pulling away from his embrace. She smiled and nodded slowly. Link chuckled and laid himself back onto the mattress, not taking is arms off from her. He pulled the covers over them so that they were both under the blanket, encased in its warmness.

Link slowly turned them around so that he was on top. He lay on top of her, slipping one arm between her back and the mattress, trying to wrap it around her, while the other made its way between their bodies, his fingertips seductively dancing on her belly. Zelda tensed at his touch, and sensing her anxiety, he leaned into her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his back, softly digging her nails into his back muscles, to which he moaned in pleasure. He lifted his head so that he was facing her, his shaggy hair covering his eyes. Zelda felt his arousal slowly begin to grow, poking against her, but for some reason, she was not embarrassed, nor was he ashamed. Under the blanket, the world was shut out, leaving them in a state of pure bliss and euphoria.

Nothing mattered to them while they were in their fantasy land, and that included the social taboo that restricted them from full realization of their love for one another.

Feeling utterly bold and daring, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips against hers.

Zelda's eyes widened at him. Her mind was telling her this was wrong. It was telling her everything was wrong: the kiss, their closeness, and the fact that they even met. She knew it was wrong to love him, but her heart just would not allow her to be right. She was completely drowned in him, and if he weren't there with her, she would never be able to pull through.

Link tried to deepen the kiss by parting her lips with his own, and when he succeeded, slipped his tongue inside her mouth. Zelda groaned in bliss and she pulled him closer to her, closing the small space between their bodies. He slowly ran his hands up and down her body, feeling every curve and contour of her body. Zelda reciprocated his actions, massaging his tense pectorals and his tight abs. Their moaning and whimpering escalated and rose to near deafening heights as their kiss deepened and unfolded.

After what seemed like an eternity, Link unwillingly pulled away, taking short, quick gasps for air.

"I love you," he whispered lovingly.

Zelda almost broke into tears at his statement. "I love you, too…" She choked, stumbling on her own words.

Link kissed her again, with more than five times the passion than before. He slowly worked his way down her neck, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses in his wake. He licked the nape of her neck seductively, eliciting an elated sigh from her mouth. He sucked gently on her soft, satin skin, causing her cries for more to rise in volume, and he wouldn't even dream of failing to comply.

"I love you, Link…" She panted in desire over and over. Link silenced her by crushing his lips against hers, catching her in another heated kiss.

Zelda slowly pulled away from him and he nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"Zel… I love you so much…"

Zelda dug her nails deeper into his back drawing a groan of delight from the young man. It was then that she decided that she was ready.

"Link…" She breathed.

Link lifted his head and looked at her. "Hmm?"

Zelda lifted her head from the pillows and whispered invitingly into his ears.

"Take me…"

Link's eyes widened at her request. He thought that this was all beginning to get out of hand; less than a week ago they had just met, and already she was asking of him to seal their love in the most physically pleasuring action of affection. But before the voice in his head could protest, passion swept over him.

"A… Are you ready for this?" He asked, wanting to ensure that she meant what she asked, not wanting her to do something she would regret.

Zelda said nothing. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small square object he saw earlier and held it up to his face, confirming her answer.

It was a condom.

* * *

Uber cliffhanger; mu-ha. 

By the way, Rinku International Airport is named after the Hero of Time, or simply Link. "Rinku" is Link's romanized name in Japanese. I just thought I'd name the airport that, becuase "Hero of Time International Airport" sounds awkward. I'm just saying for anyone who didn't know.

Review, please.

* * *

End time: December 3, 2006; 6:18 PM PST

* * *


	7. Just the Two of Us

* * *

Start time: December 4, 2006; 5:07 PM, PST

* * *

Sorry, guys: to keep the rating as low as possible (Teen at best), I skipped the "juicy" scenes; that last thing I want to do is be known as the author who got half of the guys on this website so hot and bothered to the point that "questionable" fluids totally ruin their keyboards; how will you ever be able to review if you can't type? I'll let your sick adolescent imaginations conjure up a steamy sex scene; I think its better that way. Anyway, here's chapter seven for ya.

* * *

"Mmm…" 

The sun's blinding light shone through the floor-to-ceiling length window behind the dining table, hitting Link's eyes. He stirred slowly and blinked small tears from his eyes due to the sun.

He looked around to see that he was in his living room on the sofa bed, and he saw Zelda's naked body with her arms wrapped around him, and in turn his own arms around her body.

He had to admit that out of all the girls he's been in a relationship with, Zelda was definitely the most attractive. She was mid-height to say the least; she was a few inches taller than the average teenage Hylian female. He thought she had what he called an "erudite" appeal. While not overly beautiful in the classical sense of the word, for the most part anyway, she was very appealing in the intelligent sense, and he knew this for a fact, seeing as how he had a first-hand look at her grade record. Link always favored a girl with brains over a girl with looks, and that was what probably attached him to her. To him, substance always came first, and Zelda was the epitome of that philosophy; she somehow maintained a perfect balance between intelligence and beauty. Her striking purple eyes always seemed to pierce deep into his soul and calm him whenever he was tense; during times of stress, all he had to do was image her soft, indigo eyes and all the pressure that burdened him faded into obscurity. Her voice was soft spoken and floated gently on the air. He could tell that she was gifted with a beautiful singing voice, although he has yet to actually hear her sing.

He smiled down at her kissed her lightly on the forehead, recalling the events that took place during the early morning.

A million emotions ran through his mind the second Zelda showed him the condom: shock, surprise, excitement, guilt, pleasure, bliss, thrill, anticipation, nervousness, desire, and the unmistakable need to be deep inside her. She told him she was ready, and he was more than happy enough to deliver.

His mind and his heart were pulling him in two opposite directions, and he simply did not know who to listen to. His mind was begging for him to say 'no,' and to reason to Zelda why they simply could not interact in that manner. First of all, the fact that he was almost a decade her senior made the whole affair scandalous, much less the fact that she was an underage minor, already sleeping with a man in his late twenties. Secondly and most importantly, that he was her teacher, and in no situation does a teacher sleeping with their student _ever_ looks good.

But his heart was saying differently; it told him to go for it. She told him that she could not sleep because every time she closed her eyes; he was there, smiling at her. Everywhere she looked, there he was. It ate away at her insides, leaving a giant abyss of emptiness in her spirit, and only he could fill that hole, and he could only do it if physically completed her. He was given a yes-no situation; there was no room for uncertainty- it was either he did, or he didn't.

He pushed his mind away, and gave into both Zelda and his heart. He took the condom from her hands and tore the wrapper open, and slipped it on. His body was in control, and so was Zelda's.

He was obviously more experienced in these situations and this being Zelda's first time, he tried to hold himself back from going too fast, but it was becoming increasingly harder to do that when Zelda was rubbing his body the entire time.

During their love making, the sofa bed was shaking violently in conjunction with his rhythmic thrusts; he almost thought for a second that the bed would break under their weight. She was so tight that he felt his length twitch and shudder inside her, only adding to both his and her pleasure. Zelda was moaning so loudly that half the time he had to keep kissing her just to muffle her cries. Link chuckled to himself; Zelda didn't seem like the kind of girl who would be so vocal in bed.

Not that he was sexually promiscuous or anything indecent like that, but Link has been with a number of girls before, but despite her age and her sexual naiveté, none of them compared to the way Zelda made him feel that night. She made him feel complete, and he in return made her feel the same way. They were the two missing pieces in each other's life, and they could not have fit better even if they tried.

They both climaxed at the same time, and for Link, it was Heaven and more, if that were ever possible. Link had never had that happen to him when he had sex before up until that point. He could have sworn that for a brief moment, he saw the three Goddesses themselves. In that instant, he knew he was physically, mentally, and spiritually whole.

"Uhh…" Zelda groaned softly.

Link looked down to see Zelda stirring slowly. She yawned gently and her violet eyes soon opened, locking on his azure blue orbs.

"Good morning," Link whispered. Zelda leaned in and kissed his lips softly.

"Good morning…" She replied tiredly. She continued her soft barrage of kisses down his chin and neck, ending on his left pec. Link groaned happily as she teasingly ran her tongue over his nipple and he held her closer to him. He rolled both of them over so that his back was on the mattress and she was on top of him.

"I love you," she murmured softly. Link said nothing in reply; he simply lifted his head and kissed her gingerly on the forehead again.

Zelda's hands wandered across his chest and through his tousled hair, tangling her fingers in his blonde locks.

"How do you feel?" Link asked quietly. Zelda chuckled and rested her head on his chest.

"Wonderful… You were so good…"

Link snickered and pulled her head deeper into him. "I could tell by the way you were practically screaming your head off. I was afraid you'd wake the entire building."

Zelda scoffed and looked up at him. "I think they're used to it by now; you have a whole bunch of those condoms in your drawer." She replied, reaching for the condom wrapper on the nearby coffee table and showing it to him.

Link smiled and took the wrapper from her, carelessly tossing it aside. "Oh? I never really noticed. Most of those I bought while I was in college, and I've only used a couple of them."

She rolled her eyes in response. "Yeah, right…"

Link laughed quietly and rested his chin on her head, caressing her soft blonde hair. She placed a hand on his chest and seductively ran it down his body, reaching for his length. He groaned excitedly and threw his head back at her teasing.

"How many times have you done this?" Zelda asked in curiosity as she ran her hand up and down, feeling him harden upon her touch.

"Mmm…" Link was kind of embarrassed at her question. "A couple of times…"

Zelda giggled. "Are you sure not more than that?"

Link's cheeks reddened. "I'd be lying if I told you that I slept with every girl I've been in a relationship; I really am. To be honest, I can count on one hand alone how many times I've slept with different girls…"

She looked up at him, not expecting that kind of answer. "Really?" He nodded slowly, reluctantly pulling her hand away from his manhood.

"Less than five including you," he added.

Zelda fell silent and wrapped both arms around him, savoring his warmth. A moment of quietness swept over them, with the occasional rusting of the blankets.

"What time is it?" Zelda asked, breaking the stillness between them. Link lifted his head and checked the time on the cable box.

"Twelve forty," Link replied lazily. Zelda's eyes widened in shock and hung her head slowly.

"Aww… I was supposed to meet with Malon and the others at ten so we could go to Bloomingdale's today…"

Link raised an eyebrow. "Who're 'the others'?"

"Ruto, Saria and Nabooru."

He nodded and stared at the ceiling aimlessly. "So much for that plan," he mumbled, and Zelda seemed to hear him. She smiled and patted his chest in a scolding manner.

"Hey…" She said accusingly. Link laughed and turned them over again so that Zelda was under him. Her flaxen tresses sprawled across the pillows in every which direction, Link pushed her deeper into the mattress and pressed his lips against hers.

They stayed like that for a while, caught up in each other. They made love again, only this time, Link had no protection. It didn't seem to bother her much, though; the risk only added to the delight of it all.

…

It was three in the afternoon, and Link's head was buried between Zelda's breasts. They had fallen asleep again due to pure exhaustion from their earlier activities. He was still sheathed deep inside her, not wanting to miss the sensation of being seated in her sweet womanhood.

This time, Zelda awoke first. Her face was pressed against Link's chest, and his body heat enveloped her in a cocoon of warmth, shielding her from the cold December air that had made its way inside the room, despite all the windows being closed shut. She looked up at him and watched his sleeping figure.

Link was very handsome, but not so good looking to the point that once someone began describing his looks the believability of his attractiveness eroded with every passing syllable. His unruly blonde locks covered much of his head and usually covered his eyes, and with his messy hair, lopsided smile and his probing, blue eyes, he still had a very youthful air about him while still retaining his manlier and mature appeal. He had very sculpted physique, standing almost six feet tall. He was an accomplished swimmer, and maintained his figure by swimming around fifty laps a day in the pool on the fifth floor of the building. His arrestingly sensual tenor voice always seemed to spellbind her, and there was no doubt in her mind that his voice sent chills down the spines and melted the fragile hearts of many girls during his high school and college days. She thought back to when he sang to her in his classroom, and she personally thought that his singing voice was much different from that of his normal talking voice; while he talked, his voice was rather deep, but when he sang, he sounded very sweet, and he sometimes sang a few notes higher than the average man.

In the position he was in, he looked very serene. A faint smile graced his blemish-free face and his messy locks covered his eyes as usual. He looked so… vulnerable.

Zelda lifted her head and pecked him on the lips and slowly rolled him off her, trying her hardest not to wake him up. After she succeeded, she slipped out from under the blankets and stood up. Naked, she stretched her limbs out tiredly, trying to awaken the body parts that had fallen asleep due to lying down for more than half a day. She snuck her way over to her nightgown that had fallen on the carpet after Link had excitedly relieved her of it and threw it aside. She slipped it back on over her body and made her way behind the dining table over to the window and peered through the glass.

Snow slowly began materializing before her eyes, falling down onto the streets and sideways below. Nearby stores had begun their Christmas sales, and many people filled the sidewalks on their way to the malls. She watched the busy traffic at intersection below come to a complete halt and the vast crowds of people that congregated on the street sides poured onto the streets. It was the busiest intersection in all of Hyrule in terms of how many people cross it daily; a little over a thousand people crossed this intersection every time the lights changed, and that number nearly doubled during the time of year when sales arrived, especially during the holiday season. A few years ago, the city had to change the street light's settings to accommodate the overwhelming amount of pedestrians by programming the street lights to simultaneously turn red and the crossing signs allow the pedestrians to cross all at the same time. Even with the change from a normal intersection to a scramble crossing, it helped the crossing traffic only marginally.

Zelda turned and walked away, heading for Link's bedroom. She knelt at the bedside and dug for her cell phone in her backpack. She looked at the front monitor and it read "CALLS MISSED: 5."

She flipped it open and checked her missed calls list, seeing that they were all from Ruto. She also noticed she had a voice mail. She connected to her mailbox and waited patiently for the automated service to pipe in.

"_One new voice message… New message: December 13, 2006, 9:16 AM…"_

The automated service paused for a moment before playing the message, and Zelda soon heard Ruto's voice.

"_ZELDA! Where the hell are you!? You're not answering your door! You better not be at Bloomingdale's already; if you are, I'm SO going to kick your ass!"_ She heard her scream maniacally.

"_But if you are there,"_ Ruto spoke again, her voice more calm and collected than before, _"be sure to reserve that lavender halter top I saw in their catalog. You know the one, right? Sweet kisses! Muah, muah!"_ She heard loud kissing sounds, and the message ended.

Zelda laughed to herself and flipped down the screen and set the phone on the mattress. She stood up and walked out into the living room to see Link standing in the middle of the room naked, slipping his shorts up his legs.

"Hello," Zelda spoke quietly, while loud enough for him to hear her.

Link looked up at saw her watching him dress up. He grabbed his tank top and put it on. "Hey."

Zelda walked over to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "It's snowing outside," she informed him. Link looked out the window and sure enough, snowflakes were falling gracefully from the cloudy skies.

"So I see," he replied, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together. "…You wanna help me fix the sofa?" He asked.

Zelda nodded and he led her over to the couch. He gathered the blankets and the pillows and placed them on the floor as he put up the mattress' kickstands and folding the bed back into the sofa. Zelda handed him the seat cushions and he pushed them back into their place. He ran a hand through his hair tiredly and Zelda held up the linens to him.

"Where do I…" She started, but Link interrupted her.

"Just leave them there; I'll put them away later," he told her. Zelda shrugged and carelessly loosened her grip, letting the blankets fall to the ground. Link chuckled.

"Nice…" He commented sarcastically. Zelda laughed and playfully pushed him.

She plunked onto the sofa and Link walked into the kitchen. "Are you hungry, Zelda?"

She turned on the television and changed the channel to MTV Jams. "Yeah," she replied, rubbing her stomach to reinforce her answer. Link shook his head, smirking.

"Do you want anything in particular?" Link asked. Zelda furrowed her brow slightly.

"Surprise me," she called.

…

"That smells good."

Zelda watched Link stir whatever he was cooking in his pot from behind him, sprinkling some pepper into the concoction.

"Thanks," Link replied smiling. "It's ramen."

She looked up at him. "Like the packaged kind?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, I made this from scratch." Zelda raised her eyebrows.

"Really? I bet it's delicious, then." She kissed his neck quickly and decided to help him out by getting two bowls from a cabinet and two spoons and forks from his silverware drawer and proceeded to set the table. "Where did you learn how to cook?"

"My mom taught me," he answered. "I've always wanted to learn how, so I asked her to teach me, and this was the first thing she showed me."

He grabbed a giant bowl and filled it up with the soup. He carried it by the edges, trying not to burn himself and set it on the table in front of Zelda. He reached for the serving ladle and poured the noodles into her bowl.

"Thanks," she spoke, taking in the mouth watering aroma of the broth before her.

"No problem," he responded, filling his own bowl.

Zelda dipped her spoon into the soup and slowly blew it in an attempt to cool it down so that it wouldn't burn the inside of her mouth. Once she deemed it chilled enough to eat, she sipped the soup slowly. Link watched her eat intently.

"Well?" He asked, wrapping his fork in the ramen noodles, nervous about what she would think of his cooking.

She waited for a moment, letting the taste register in her taste buds. Her eyes suddenly lit up.

"It's delicious!" She cried out. Link laughed slightly and blushed.

"Thanks," Link replied modestly.

"Your friends must love coming over to savor your cooking," Zelda gushed.

"Well actually…" Link began, swallowing the shredded beef. "My friends never tasted by cooking before."

Zelda cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" She asked in disbelief.

Link nodded and set his spoon down. "Yeah; you're the first to try it."

Zelda nodded slowly, chewing on a lettuce leaf.

'_Huh… Link didn't look like someone who'd be shy about things like that… Then again, he _is_ a guy, and aren't all guys like that about their cooking?'_

"Well let me tell you," Zelda said, swallowing the lettuce. "They don't know what they're missing!"

Link laughed at her compliment. "You really think so?"

Zelda nodded rapidly. "I do, Link. This is really good; a lot better than my own mother's cooking, in fact. You _have_ to give me the recipe so I can try it."

He snickered mischievously. "No can do, Zel…" He replied slyly.

Zelda's face faltered. "Aww… Why not?"

"Family secret," Link stated, sipping his soup.

She smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Is it really?"

He nodded and wiped his mouth with his arm. "It's been in my family for centuries, dating back to the Imprisonment War."

Her jaw dropped so low that her chin almost touched the soup. "That was at least a thousand years ago!"

He laughed at her shock. "Now you know why I won't tell you."

Zelda chuckled and he spoke again. "Did you know I'm the first male in my family to learn this recipe?"

Zelda cocked up an eyebrow again. "Really? Why?"

Link finished the rest of his meal. "It was traditionally only given to the women, but since I was an only child, and my dad was always deployed in the military so my parents couldn't try to have another child, my mom just decided to teach me."

Zelda was amazed. "Interesting," she commented.

Link poured himself another bowl, and they continued to eat in silence. After a few minutes, Zelda decided to ask him a question, wondering if he would take offense to it or not.

"Link?"

He looked up at her with noodles hanging from his mouth. She giggled softly and he smiled, sucking in the noodles into his mouth like a vacuum. "Yeah?"

"I noticed that you have a lot of girl friends…"

He rose and eyebrow, urging her to continue. "…Why is that?"

He chuckled and set his fork into the noodles. "I dunno… It's just always been like that. I never had much of a manly father figure around when I was growing up because my dad was always overseas like I said before."

Zelda nodded, telling him to go on.

"It was always my mom and I at home, and most of my cousins were all girls, and that trend seemed to follow me into school. Don't get me wrong; I had a number of guy friends, but I always had twice as many girl ones. Sometimes, that led a lot of the guys in my classes to question my sexuality."

The last part reminded Zelda of the first day they met when Link overheard the two guys' conversation.

"I always seemed to be more open with my "effeminate" side. During my adolescence, I considered myself "metrosexual": a guy who is more comfortable with feminine situations, but is still physically and romantically attracted to girls."

Zelda looked down at her near empty bowl. "It must have been rough, what with the guys always wondering if you were homosexual, even though you really weren't."

Link shook his head. "Kind of, but having more girl friends than guys does have its perks."

Zelda looked up at him confused. "What kinds of perks?"

Link sighed and thought about it for a second. "Well… You're less likely to make girls mad during their periods because you know what and what not to say around them. You grow out of that silly 'girls are evil' mindset faster than normal. When you have a wider circle of female friends, finding a girlfriend is easier because you know them all so well already…"

Zelda sniggered at the last part, and to be honest, he did have a point. She had a few metrosexual friends, and she had to admit that they were always one step ahead of the other guys in terms of maturity.

"When I look back on it…" Link started. "I have to say that my childhood is very ironic."

Zelda looked at him strangely. "How?"

He smiled at her. "Think about it: like all boys during early childhood, I always thought that girls had cooties and that they were the embodiment of the devil, yet more then three-fourths of all the people I knew and were very good friends with were girls."

Zelda laughed aloud at his explanation. "Yes, I suppose that _is_ ironic to say the least."

Link chortled and went on. "Sometimes a lot of guys were jealous of me, too."

Zelda giggled at that. "Were they really?"

He nodded in response. "I was always friends with the girls they had crushes on, and I connected with them more than they did. From time to time the boys would blame me for 'stealing' their girlfriends, when I did no such thing; _they_ came to me. They were especially jealous of the fact that I could come on to girls and act flirtatiously around them because they know that I was kidding and that I meant good fun, whereas the other guys couldn't do it without a hard slap across the face or being called a 'sick pervert'." Link reclined in his seat and rested his hands behind his head, smiling to himself. "'Link is a pimp,' everyone used to say."

Zelda snickered. "They really said that?" He nodded, snickering as well.

"The girls would even let me touch their chests sometimes when they'd flirt with me…" Link laughed and smiled wistfully. "Yeah… My childhood _rocked_."

She laughed at him. She reached for an unused napkin, crumpled it up, and threw it at him. "You really _were_ a pimp."

He opened an eye and raised an eyebrow. "'_Were_?'" She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"_Excuse_ me, Mister Womanizer."

He laughed and stood up. He gathered all the empty bowls and silverware and headed for the dishwasher. He placed them inside it. He got out a large Tupperware container and poured the leftover soup inside it. He pressed the cap on and handed it to Zelda.

"Can you put this in the refrigerator?" He asked. She nodded and did as she was told. Link placed the empty pot inside the dishwasher and closed it, locking the door. He pressed 'on,' and the dishwasher slowly started to turn on.

Link walked into the living room and saw Zelda lying down on the sofa with one of the pillows under her head. He looked up at the clock and checked the time.

'_8:54 PM'_

He walked over to her and lifted her legs. He took a seat on the couch and rested her leg on his lap.

"Thanks for the food, Link." Zelda thanked him. He smiled and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"You're welcome… I'd be a horrible host if I didn't offer you anything to eat…" He joked. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back in for a passionate kiss.

He moaned into her mouth loudly, running his tongue down her neck and softly sucking on her collarbone, much to her pleasure. He slowly pulled down his shorts and positioned himself at her entrance.

Deep in the back of his mind, he knew all of this was wrong on _so_ many levels; he _had_ to tell her what he was going to before she cut him off on the phone the other day… but it's so hard to say the one thing you need to say the most when your mind is clouded void of all logical thought.

* * *

Side note: I based Link's entire childhood on my own; haha. Review please.

* * *

End time: December 4, 2006; 10:18 PM, PST

* * *


	8. New Teacher: Permanently

* * *

Start time: December 9, 2006; 11:14 PM, PST

* * *

So sorry for the delay. I'm been totally negligent of my readers, and I've been neglecting my frequent updates. People have told me that I shouldn't worry about it, since they have had wider time frames in between chapters where there was no update, but I'm rather well-known for my almost daily updates, and that makes five days seems like an eternity. Oh well. Thanks to the reviewers so far. Those reviews really do mean a lot to me- yes, even the flames. They may be destructive, but at least they took the time to review, right? Ahem, readers who have yet to review. Anyway, that does not mean I'm encouraging you to flame me, or any other story/author on this website for that matter. Okay, I've rambled enough. Here's chapter eight.

* * *

BEFORE YOU BEGIN READING: The best way to read this story is by one line at a time: scroll down very slowly. It builds suspense. :)

* * *

"Uh…"

"Ah…"

"Link, let's stop… please?" Zelda asked politely, completely out of breath.

"We can't just stop; we just got started!" Link whined, slightly annoyed that she wanted to quit.

"But the last time we did this, every part of my body numbed!" The young girl complained.

"You say it like it was a bad thing…"

She rolled her eyes at her and pushed him softly.

"One more time, Zel… I promise." He reassured her.

Zelda looked at him, panting heavily. "Okay… one more… but this time, I decide how we'll do it."

Link smiled widely at her answer. "Thanks… you're getting good at this, you know?"

"Whatever; you're just saying that so you'll get lucky again," she scoffed lightly.

Link shook his head and wiped sweat from his brow. "No, I'm serious. You should do this professionally."

Zelda snickered at his suggestion. "Yeah, right; the girl at the top of her class doing _this,_ of all professions, as a living. I don't think there's even such a thing."

She stood up on her feet from the couch and picked up her Wii remote and pointed it at the television screen, thinking about which Wii Sport they were going to play next.

After beginning another heated session of love making the night before, they had moved their intimacy inside Link's bedroom on his bed so that they were more comfortable through the night, lying on his thick tempurpedic mattress and covered under the unyielding warmth of his many comforters.

They had both woken up around eight that morning, and after yet another delicious meal created by Link, he had decided to teach Zelda how to play Wii Sports.

At first, Zelda thought that the idea of a motion-sensor controller was absurd, and standing the middle of the room playing tennis, swinging the remote in mid-air made her feel foolish. At times, she would be so in to the game that she would act as if she were actually playing the game, and in the end, felt like a total loser. On the other hand though, she did admire that opposed to the many other video games that she had played before, the Wii added the kinesthetic interactivity that almost all video games lacked very deeply, and that it gave her some much needed exercise, not to say that she really _needed_ it, anyway.

…

It was around noon time, and Link was lying on his bed, waiting for Zelda to come out of the shower. They had decided that they would go out to one of the shopping arcades to start some Christmas shopping, but before they left, Zelda told her that she needed a quick shower, but that was well over thirty minutes ago. Link scratched his forehead and sighed, resting his hand on his stomach.

'_She calls _that_ a 'quick shower'? I can only imagine how long it would take her if she took her time. No wonder she's always late for class…'_

From outside in the living room, he heard the bathroom door open softly. The young man heaved loudly. _'About damn time…'_

Zelda walked in with a towel wrapped around her body, her body covered with beads of water and her hair was a wet mess. She looked over to him, who in turn was looking at her, and she grinned light heartedly.

"Hi," she chirped out. Link said nothing; he merely smiled tiredly and slightly waved his hand, not lifting it from his belly.

She walked over to the bedside for her backpack and unzipped the large pocket, searching for some clothes that were appropriate for cold weather that awaited them outside.

"If you would excuse me," Zelda started, pulling out a bra and panties, "I would like to change into some clothing."

Link frowned slightly. "You mean you won't let me watch you?" He joked.

The girl scoffed at him. "What do you think? You can't watch a girl change; it's just… wrong."

He snickered in the back of his mind at her comment. _'Then again, having sex with your teacher is wrong, but did that stop you from doing it?'_

Not wanting to argue about the matter any further, Link got off the bed and started for the door, sulking playfully on his way over. "Go figure girls: even after you sleep with them, they won't even let you watch them change."

Zelda laughed at his lament and looked over to him, who playfully feigned hurt in his eyes and tone of voice.

"You know… I'd let you watch me change," he told her in an attempt to make her feel guilty, but it didn't seem to work.

"That's nice… now leave."

Hanging his head in mock dejection, he walked out the door. "Girls are pretty fickle…" And with that, he softly closed the door.

Zelda shook her head at his silliness and unraveled the towel off of her body.

As Link waited for Zelda to come out of the bedroom, he took the time to quickly sort out the graded chapter tests and placed the pile of papers into his binder. Just as he was about to set his folder into his backpack, Zelda entered the room.

Zelda was clothed in a black cotton form fitting shirt, a white and black striped scarf with numerous tassels at the ends wrapped around her neck so both ends were in the front, and the black flared leather jeans and the black block heel boots she wore to Error's Café. Her hair was curled at the ends again, only it had a white headband in it, and on her head was a beige beret.

The teenage girl watched Link closely. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, light brown Timberlands, a navy Quiksilver sweatshirt, a white and grey scarf that he wore in the same fashion as hers, and on his head was a blue floppy cap that covered most of his blonde hair, leaving much of his bangs and his sideburns visible.

"I'm ready," Zelda proclaimed.

Link looked up and turned around to see Zelda looking at her with a smile across her face. He noticed a black comfortable looking jacket around her arm and a small worm-out cream colored handbag.

He chuckled and zipped up his backpack. "You seem to like black a lot…"

She shrugged and walked over to him and took one of his hands in her own. "I suppose… it's a good color to wear, along with white."

Link nodded slowly and intertwined his fingers with hers. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

Link grabbed his cell phone, wallet, and house keys and they both exited the condo.

…

The two of them have been walking down the sidewalks for quite some time, with the chilly mid-winter air gently blowing past them. It wasn't a cold as it normally would feel because of the body heat created by all the people.

They passed by a small boutique selling designer handbags. Just as they were about to pass by it, something very attractive caught Zelda's eye.

Out in the window display was a white medium-sized Chanel handbag with the overlapping "C" logo embroidered on the lower left side in black. It was made of the finest durable quilt available and the arm straps were created from the supplest Lon Lon cow pelts.

Link noticed Zelda's face practically pressed against the store windows and backtracked over to where she was standing. He snaked his arms around her petite waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What are you looking that?" He asked softly, his eyes darting across the bag display, trying to find out which one she was looking at. She absentmindedly pointed over to the white bag.

"I want that bag…" Zelda whispered to herself, and Link seemed to hear her.

Zelda lowered her eyes below the bag to see the price written on a piece of paper.

'_1250 Rupees,'_ it read.

After one look at the retail sale, Zelda sighed and all hope of ever having that bag was out of reach. She could _never_ afford that kind of money, and there was no way her parents would buy it for her, even if it was Christmas.

"Holy crap," Link spoke aloud, his jaw dropping at the price.

Zelda took her bag from off her arm and looked at it.

It was very tattered and beaten up, but it served her well over the years. It had been through a lot in its prime, and Zelda had been thinking of retiring it for the longest time. But every bag she had looked at since then, while most of them were attractive, they just did not have the same cachet she had for her old one. But it was at that moment that she had found the bag she was looking for, but fate had dealt her a cruel hand: the one bag in the world that she had deemed worthy of her old bag's replacement, was monetarily horribly out of her reach.

"I can't afford that…" Zelda stated solemnly. She lifted her forehead from off the windowpane and took Link's hand in hers.

"Come on, Link…"

Link took one look at the bag before taking off with his sweetheart. He thought it was a shame really; she would have looked really nice with it under her arm…

Link and Zelda were at a Starbucks, sipping their hot chocolate and sitting in an intimate sitting area near the door. They had been discussing each other's lives, wanting to know more about each other. It was around six o' clock, and they really had not bought as much as they hope they would have, despite all of the sales going on.

"Are you sure your parents wouldn't buy it for you?" Link asked her, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. His student laughed sarcastically.

"Are you kidding? My parents would never drop almost thirteen hundred rupees on something as materialistic as a handbag. I mean… if that money were to fund for things like my college textbooks, they'd do it in a heartbeat, but on a bag? …Not so much…"

He frowned slightly at that.

"Not to say that their stingy or anything!" She hurriedly added on. "It's just that… they're rather frugal with their expenses… in the positive sense of the word, of course. They're rather traditional in that aspect, I suppose; they try to spend their money on only the necessities such as the house, the bills, food, and other things like that. Once all of that is squared away, then they'll splurge occasionally. But since bills come so often, down time is very... limited, to say the least."

Link had to feel some sympathy for her. "And you paying for it is completely out of the question…"

She nodded dismally in reply.

Link hung his head and set his hot chocolate on a nearby coffee table. He then thought of an idea.

"Zel… I'm gonna go out for a quick walk… You don't mind, right?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. When will you be back?"

"Umm…" He tightened his scarf a tiny bit. "Five minutes. Wait here, yeah?"

Zelda nodded and took a drink of her chocolate. Link kissed her on the cheek and left the building.

He stuffed his hands in his sweatshirt and walked down the streets, trying to make his way through the crowds that passed him by. It wasn't before long that he stopped in front of the store with the handbag that Zelda had been eyeing vainly. Fortunately, it had not been taken, and he walked inside.

He found out that he was the only male in the store, and everyone else in the room was female, but then again, what else was new in his life? A few teenage girls caught sight of him and they flirtatiously giggled and waved at him. Trying not to be rude, he smiled charmingly and waved back, but didn't want to give them the idea that he was trying to lead them on. He stopped at the store counter and was greeted by a brunette that looked no older than twenty-one.

"Can I help you?" She asked, putting away her calculator.

He hesitated before asking, already having second thoughts about the whole thing, but then he thought about Zelda.

'_This would really make the girl happy… A guy will do some crazy things just for a girl…'_

"Well…" Link began, scratching his head, "I was wondering if I could have that white Chanel handbag on the window display…"

…

"Zelda!?"

Both Link and Zelda looked up to see Malon standing a few feet in front of them wearing blue hip hugging jeans, black and white Converses, a white Hollister long sleeved shirt, and an unzipped beige jacket. She was carrying a lot of bags with her; seems like at least someone was successful in Christmas shopping.

"Malon!" The blonde girl cried out. They both ran to each other and hugged one another tightly.

The redhead caught sight of Link smiling at them, and she waved at him, letting go of Zelda. "Hi Link."

"Hey Malon," the young man greeted in reply, resting a hand on her shoulder. "How is your weekend going along?"

"Ehh… It's nice. We're busy at the ranch, as always."

He laughed and stuffed a hand in his jeans jacket.

"What do you have there?" Malon asked him, pointing to a blank, designless shopping bag in his free hand. He had requested that they put the Chanel bag in a plastic one that didn't have the store's logo on it; he didn't want to give the surprise away. Link looked at the bag and slightly hid it.

"Just a present for someone…" He responded.

"Oh really?" He seemed to have piqued her curiosity. "Who for?"

Link was about to open his mouth to say something, but he remembered Zelda's presence. He couldn't just come out and say that he bought the bag that she wanted; he wanted to keep it a surprise.

"Well, you know… someone." Link muttered.

Malon raised an eyebrow and decided to shrug it off after realizing that he wouldn't reveal who it was for right then and there. "Okay then… Well Zelda," she started, turning her attention to the female blonde. "You wanna hang out for a little bit? We haven't seen each other in quite a while."

Zelda looked over to Link for a second. "Can I?"

"Sure, Zel. I'll be at the condo for the rest of the day, yeah?"

She nodded in reply and he impulsively kissed her softly on the lips. "Bye Zelda. See you later, Malon."

And with that, he walked away, leaving behind a flushed Zelda and a shocked Malon.

The blonde looked back to the brunette and saw the unmistakable look of astonishment across her face. She knew at that moment what Malon was thinking, and for the first time, she wished that Link had not kissed her.

…

"Tell me from the beginning… what happened between you two."

Sitting at the Starbucks where she and Link were earlier, Zelda poured out every single aspect of what happened: their meeting that Friday after school, their dinner at Error's Café, her discoveries in Link's closet, their very heated interactions in the early morning on the sofa bed, their conversation over Link's ramen dinner, the time they spent playing Wii Sports, and finishing with when he left them to spend time together. No detail, no event, and no part was left out or vividly described.

"Wow…" Malon started. "Link looked like the kind of guy who would whip up some good food."

Zelda's mouth fell agape at her comment. "I have sex with my teacher and all you can think about is his cooking!?"

Malon laughed at her outburst and tried to calm her down. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Jeez…"

Zelda sneered at her darkly. "This is no joke-cracking matter…"

"Okay, Zel… So what are you going to do about it?"

Zelda opened her mouth… but no words came out. She didn't even think of what would happen after tryst the other night. She didn't consider of the complications of what would come out of a student-teacher relationship. All she thought about was Link... and how wonderful it would be to feel him inside.

"I… I don't know… Ever since Link began subbing for Din, everything became so… complicated."

Malon wrapped a comforting arm around Zelda's shoulder and pulled her close. "Just be happy that Link won't be our teacher anymore come Monday, right? His teaching thing was only for last week."

That reassured the blonde somewhat, but it wasn't enough. "It was that kind of reasoning that got me into this whole damn mess…"

The redhead looked at her confused, telling her to elaborate.

"Well… Friday night," the blonde started, "I was thinking to myself how I could be able to make a relationship with Link work, and then it hit me: the taboo said that you could not have an affair with your teacher, right?"

Malon nodded in reply, and Zelda continued. "So since Link was only our teacher for a week, and Friday was his last day, I figured it was okay for us to be together after that. I mean, the taboo didn't say anything about not being allowed to be with a teacher whom you _weren't_ under instruction… right?"

Malon couldn't help but laugh lightly at her friend's reasoning. Zelda _did_ have a point. It only said that for a student, you couldn't have a relationship with _your_ teacher and the same for the instructors: they were not allowed to have any intimacy with _their_ students. It said nothing about a teacher not being allowed to fall in love with a student who wasn't their own, and vice-versa for the students.

Zelda always knew how to find loopholes in seemingly hopeless situations, and this was probably one of the brightest and shining examples of that uncanny ability.

"Well… you're happy now, right? You're finally with the one guy what you want to be with…"

The blonde sighed and looked down at her lap. "You'd think I would be, wouldn't you? But for some reason… I'm not. I mean, I am happy that I'm with Link… but it only made the entire situation worse…"

"But still," Malon said, "He's not our teacher anymore, Zel! Be happy!"

Zelda smiled weakly and saw the logic in her comment.

'_He's not our teacher anymore… right?'_

…

Link was in the living room sitting on the sofa with his laptop on his lap, trying to finishing word processing his creative essay for his journalism class he began taking a few weeks ago at the Hylian Adult Night School. He needed a minimum of fifteen hundred words, and he was a few hundred words short. His topic was a personal narrative, and he decided to write about his high school graduation when he was the class valedictorian. He was just about to continue typing when the front door began ringing.

'_It's probably Zelda,'_ he thought, setting his laptop on the seat cushion next to him and he walked over to the small built-in LCD screen on the wall next to the door that functioned as the door's peep hole, which was connected to the surveillance camera above the door in the hallway outside. Contrary to his belief, it wasn't Zelda, but two of his closest male friends.

He opened the door and saw Sheik Adlez and Ganondorf Dragmire standing in front of him.

"Hey Link," they spoke in unison.

Sheik was part of the Sheikah tribe that inhabited much of Kakariko Village, the second largest city in Hyrule- second only to Hyrule Castle Town, which was the largest in population and size. Link met him in the fourth grade after Sheik's family moved to Hyrule Castle Town. He had golden blonde hair, a tan complexion, and deep red eyes. Sheik's parents had always doubled as Link's second family, since both their fathers were very good friends after working together in the Hylian Navy. It was Sheik's parents that pierced Link's ears when he was seventeen.

Ganondorf was a Gerudo, a tribe who dwelled in the deep western deserts of Hyrule that was a predominantly matriarchal society. He and Link had a rather "competitive" friendship: they'd have competitions to see who the better man was. They would have archery contests, swordsmanship competitions, and other stereotypical "macho contests." Even though they'd always argue and fight, it was all in good fun, and although a noticeable number of them ended with Link victorious, almost the same number ended in ties. Despite their constant arguing, they had a good friendship, and it sometimes they seemed like brothers caught in a sibling rivalry.

"Hey guys," Link replied. He let the two men in and he closed the door behind them.

"What're you doing?" Sheik asked, setting Link's laptop on the coffee table.

"School work… trying to finish my essay."

"'School work'?" Ganondorf sneered. "You geek."

Link shrugged his comment off and grabbed two beer bottles for his friends. "Whatever man. Some of us care about our education."

"Pfft…" Ganondorf scoffed.

Ganondorf never thought too highly of education in general, just barely sliding through high school, and didn't even bother with college. His grades were average, with straight C's going straight down the line, while most of Link's grades were all A's. The facts that Link was the valedictorian in high school and the salutatorian in college gave Ganondorf all the more reason to call him things like "geek," and provided that Link decided to take a career in teaching, and took supplementary classes _after_ his college education was finished pushed it over the edge. Deep down, Ganondorf was always jealous of Link: he got good grades, he was good with the ladies, and he was a pretty damn handsome guy- as far as a guy will say concerning another guy's looks.

"How's that substitute teaching gig going? Navi tells us you're quite smitten with one of your students…" Sheik commented, taking the beer bottle from Link and popping the cap off with his teeth.

The Hylian's eyes widened. _'Damn Navi… she never was able to keep her mouth shut.'_

"Is it true? Linky-boy's got a crush on one of his students?" Ganondorf laughed. "Of all the scandalous…"

But Link cut him off by throwing a square cushion at him. "Cut it out, Ganon."

"But is it true, though?" Sheik asked.

Link fell silent at his question and sat down on the coffee table so that he was facing them. "Yeah…"

Ganondorf chuckled and took a swig of his beer. "What's the sheila's name?"

Link looked up at the Gerudo. "Zelda Harkinian." He reached behind him and grabbed his laptop. He began typing and on the screen appeared her dossier. He turned the laptop around so the screen was facing the two men and handed his notebook to Ganondorf.

Sheik leaned in to the Gerudo so he could see the screen, and they read over her profile and her school record.

"Damn, that girl's smart." The Sheikah whispered.

"I know, right?" Link commented, hearing him.

"I knew Link would always fall in love with a smart chick," Ganondorf said. "But I didn't know that she'd be as young as… sixteen."

"And how old are you again?" Sheik asked.

"…Twenty-seven…"

Ganondorf snickered and began calculating the age difference between Link and Zelda with his fingers. "Let's see… eighteen… nineteen…"

"Try eleven years, Sherlock." The Sheikah remarked sarcastically.

The Gerudo lifted his hand and showed Sheik the back of hand threateningly, pretending that he was about to backslap him. "I knew that."

"Are you and this Zelda girl… you know… 'Intimate'?" Sheik asked him.

"Well, actually…" Link started timidly. Ganondorf and Sheik leaned in curiously. Every time Link said that, it meant that some shocking news was going to follow.

The Hylian lowered his head so that his thick bangs covered his eyes.

"I slept with her," he whispered almost inaudibly.

Both of their mouths fell agape at his confession.

"Holy shit…"

"No fucking way…"

There was a long silence between the three of them, when Sheik spoke again.

"Are you freakin' serious?"

Link looked up at him with a mix of guilt and aggravation. Sheik knew that look. Every time Link looked at someone with that face, it meant that he wasn't lying. But even then, no decent man would _ever_ think of lying about something like sleeping with your student.

"When the hell did this happen!?" Ganondorf cried out in astonishment.

"Last night on that sofa," Link replied solemnly.

"Was she any good?" Sheik asked in an off-color manner. Link shot a death glare at him that practically yelled out 'this is not the time, nor the place for that kind of question'.

"I mean… out of morbid curiosity…" Sheik added. The Hylian sighed and nodded.

"She's a lot better than all the other girls I've been with, even if it was her first time…"

"Jeez, Link…" Ganondorf started. "You've got some pretty damn big balls to sleep with your student; an _underage_ high school student, no less."

"At least she isn't your student anymore, right? You were only supposed to teach that class for last week, right?" Sheik asked.

Link let out a grunt of frustration. "Well, actually…"

…

It was around eight o'clock, and Zelda exited the elevator and walked down the halls looking for Link's condo. As she walked down the halls, she passed by a Gerudo and a Sheikah, and she accidentally over heard their conversation.

"You think that's her?" The Sheikah whispered.

"She looks like her…" The Gerudo replied.

"She looks a lot hotter in person," the Sheikah commented, much to Zelda's embarrassment.

"Yeah… If I were him, I'd hit it too…" The Gerudo remarked crudely.

Then, the male duo was so far down the corridor their conversation was out of earshot.

…

Link and Zelda were in his car in her driveway. The weekend was nearly over, and the school week was about to begin the following day.

"I had a really fun time," Zelda spoke softly. He turned to her and leaned in to kiss her neck. "So did I…"

Zelda unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled the young man closer to her, savoring their closeness. Link moved his mouth up to her own and kissed her passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he trailed his tongue down her neck again and nibbled at her collarbone. His hands reached for the hem of her jeans and unbuttoned it and pulled down the zipper slowly.

He wanted to spend just one more night with her. He wanted to be seated deep inside her for just one more night. He wanted to spend as much time making love to her as possible for just one more night, because he knew that this was the last time they would ever be able to be this close to each other ever again.

…

"Where the hell is Madame Din?"

Malon drummed her fingers on her desk impatiently, and Zelda shrugged in reply.

"I don't know. The last time she was late like this was last Monday."

As soon as Zelda finished her sentence, the door opened and Principal Rauru came walking in.

"Good morning class," the principal spoke.

"Good morning sir," the class replied in unison.

"Where's Madame Din?" Malon asked hurriedly. Rauru chuckled softly.

"Well Miss Adame, you sure don't waste any time getting to the point. That was exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

Zelda raised her eyebrow in confusion. _'What's going on?'_

"Madame Din is apparently sicker than we first thought, so she'll be out for the rest of the term."

The class started cheering and clapping again, and once again, Rauru silenced them.

"So as her replacement, we called in someone to take her place officially. Madame Din was going to retire at the semester's end, anyway."

"Another substitute?" Malon whispered to Zelda.

"You may come in now!" Rauru commanded to whoever was outside the door.

The door opened again and the person who stepped into the room was no other than Link Avalon.

Both Zelda and Malon's mouths dropped in shock, dismay, and above all, absolute horror.

"Good morning class," Link spoke.

"You're… You're…" Zelda choked loudly. She could not believe what was happening to her.

"Yes, Zelda…" Link replied, looking at her squarely in the eye, and what he saw in her violet pupils.. were all the events that occured over the past weekend: their heated nights of making love, every sensual kiss they shared, and every time they would profess their love to each other... playing back in rapid replay for him to see.

"I'm your new teacher."

* * *

Ganondorf and Link friends!? What the hell!? I told you there would be some crazy OOC-ness going on here. Review, please.

* * *

End time: December 9, 2006; 2:23 PM, PST

* * *


	9. We'll Find a Way Together

* * *

Start Time: December 12, 2006; 3:39 PM, PST

* * *

Chapter nine, folks.

* * *

"…"

Zelda shook her head in utter disbelief, not wanting to accept what was happening as reality- as if she _could_, anyway.

She suddenly felt sick to her stomach; as if someone just kicked her belly. The room suddenly began spinning, and her vision was blurred out with tears, rendering everything she saw as nothing but a distorted image; it was as if everything was a painting with the colors melting and mixing together into a giant, meaningless puddle.

Through her tears, she could tell Link was hurting as well; it was written all over his face and in his eyes. Never before has she seen such a deep mix of guilt and frustration than the combination that was soldered into his cobalt pupils. It made her heart melt, but not in the romantic, heart warming way; it chilled her to the bone and almost caused her to double over in throes of anguish and misery had she not been sitting down at the moment. She could have sworn that she saw a few tears coming to his eyes…

He then blinked rapidly in an attempt to hide his emotions and forced a smile upon his face, and while he fooled much of the class, his mask didn't trick Zelda one bit; she may not have known him for very long, but she knew enough to know when his smile was genuine and when it was only a weary front, and this smile was anything _but_ real.

The second Rauru left the room; the class erupted in cheering at the news that Link was their new teacher. The class liked Link a lot; they could relate to him on much a friendlier level than they could with someone like Madame Din. Link was someone from _their_ generation, and he was a lot more laid back and lenient. In addition to that, he made the learning fun: he would crack jokes, he would add a certain extent of interactivity with the class during lectures by creating hypothetical situations in which the students took on the roles of important figures in Hylian history, and he didn't pile bus loads after bus loads after homework on them. It's only been a week after he began teaching at the school, and pretty much everyone on the campus has accepted him with open arms: all the girls liked him, all the boys looked up to him, and the staff had all the respect in the world for him. Part of it was attributed to the fact that he was a Hyrule High alumni, and most of the faculty have known him, being that he was very active in the school in both academics and extracurricular activities: he graduated at the top of his class, he was on the academic team, he was involved in ASB in all four years and the ASB president during Senior year, he was the varsity commander of both the rifle team and armed fancy drill team in ROTC, and he was their ROTC battalion commander. The teachers he had during his years at Hyrule High were some of the best he's had, and he spent some of the greatest days of his life at this school; the least he could do was return the favor by teaching there.

"Dude, are you really our new teacher!?" Asked Mikau.

"Was Principal Rauru really telling the truth about Madame retiring!?" Romani cried out.

"Yeah Mikau, I'm your new teacher for the rest of the year," Link replied, "and yes Romani, he was serious about Madame Din retiring. From now on, I will be teaching AP Ancient Hylian History."

In response, the class boomed in utter jubilation at the news of their emancipation from Madame Din once and for all. They all concluded that Din's constant screaming at them was a blessing in disguise; not only did it cause her to pull out from teaching due to frequent voice loss, but it also hooked them up with one of the coolest teachers any of them have ever had.

Link chuckled at their antics and sat on his desk, slightly kicking his feet against the sides. "Jeez guys; try to contain your sadness…" He remarked sarcastically. The class laughed and they slowly fell quiet so Link could begin teaching,

"As if you wouldn't do the same thing, right Link?" Romani shot back jokingly, taking her seat and getting out her pencil. Her question made Link smile somewhat.

"You got me there, Romani. I suppose I _would_ do the same; Madame Din was never my favorite teacher, and I can't say that I found her teaching enjoyable…"

Romani smirked smartly. "Exactly."

"But still," Link tried to reason, "I'd rejoice in a more… you know… subtle manner, instead of…" He got off his desk and imitated some of the kids by howling and laughing and jumping up, clicking his heels together midair. "YES! Din is gone forever! The Goddesses really _do_ exist!"

The class erupted in laughter at his parody of them. Link sprinted over to Romani and lifted her up from her seat and whirled her around in the air, tossing her up in the air.

"Oh blessed grace of the Goddesses that has delivered me from that witch!"

This caused the entire class to laugh harder, and Romani protested that she was put down between squeals and giggles. Link snickered lightly and complied with her request, slowly putting her down on the floor. Romani dusted off her skirt and the young man look down at her.

"I'd wait after class to act all crazy," Link told her and the class. "Or I'd at least pretend to look sad and I'd jump for joy in my mind."

Romani smiled and took her seat. "I guess."

Link beamed and walked back to the front of the class. "Okay kiddies, time for some school work! Get your books out and turn to chapter four, section one, and we'll discuss the events that triggered the Imprisonment War."

…

After Link had finished his lecture, he gave out worksheets that introduced what they would be learning in his chapter, vocabulary words to define, and questions that asked standard questions about the period of the Imprisonment War. The class worked diligently throughout the period, but a certain female blonde simply could not focus as hard as she tried to apply herself.

The event at the beginning of class- Link humorous imitation of her classmates, that is- lightened her mood somewhat, but it wasn't nearly enough to fully ameliorate her foul mood. Her feelings have been bottled up long enough; it was time to let them out.

She shot up from her seat, causing her chair to fall over, the loud thud rousing shocked gasps and yelps from much of the class, with Link included. He looked up from the computer screen, drawing his attention away from his creative essay over to Zelda who was trembling noticeably, tears beginning to form in her violet eyes.

"Why did you have to come back!?" The female blonde cried out, her voice cracking with overflowing emotion. Link looked at her puzzled, not having the foggiest idea of what she was talking about. After a short pause, Zelda ran out of the room and down the stairs, the sounds of her rapid footsteps and sobbing slowly echoing until it was too far out to hear anymore.

Malon was about to get out of her seat to run after her friend, but Link stopped her before her bottom was lifted off from her seat.

"Stay here," Link ordered seriously, looking at her straight in the eye. "I'll go after her."

Without a second of hesitation, he ran out the door and down the stairs, pausing for a second to figure out where she may have gone. A slight, chilly winter breeze swept past him, blowing the leaves of the concrete floors down the walkways. His long ears then picked up a faint, distant sound: it was the sound of a female girl crying softly. He followed the noise down straight down, running through a tunnel illuminated only by the sun's light and dim overhead lighting fixtures. All the classroom doors were closed, but the first giant entrance to his right was left open. He noticed a sign next to the door.

"_GIRLS' RESTROOM."_

He knew that he'd risk some serious squeals and shrieks if he were caught by girls if he were to run inside, but he didn't care; that's where the crying was coming from. He slowly walked inside, making his way through the winding entryway until he found himself in the middle of the restroom.

The room was brightly lit, and the walls and floors were covered in polished granite. It was a lot nicer looking than the boys' restroom to say the least, given that there was no graffiti on the walls of the stalls or tagging scratches on the mirrors. From the small cracks under the stalls, he saw a pair of legs crossed together. He cautiously approached the stall and stopped at the door. The soft sobs were somewhat muffled, and it seemed like she girl inside did not notice his presence. He knocked softly on the door.

"Zelda?" He whispered. The crying stopped immediately after he spoke.

"W-who's there?" The girl asked in a raspy voice.

"Is that you, Zelda?"

He heard the lock on the other side of the door click and it slowly opened, revealing to him a very tired looking Zelda. Her eyes were red, and there were bags under her eyes; she must have been crying for some time.

"Link…" She spoke softly. "This is the girls' bathroom! If you're caught, you'll be in trouble!"

He shook his head slightly. "I don't care. I want to know why you ran out the way you did."

The young girl rubbed her eyes quickly and walked out of the stall past him, over to a sink, and washed her face, trying to get rid of the bags under her eyes. Link walked over behind her. She turned off the taps and wiped her face on her jacket, and looked at him through the mirror.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of his reflection.

He lifted his head to look back at her own reflection. "What… what are you talking about?"

She whirled around to stare at him straight in the eye. "You knew. You knew, didn't you? You knew that you would be teaching after last weekend, didn't you!?"

He paused for a moment before answering. He sighed softly nodded. "Yes, I knew. Rauru assigned me Friday evening before you called that night."

Zelda groaned in frustration and looked away, slowly shaking her head. She looked back at him with a stern expression. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Do you think I didn't try? I tried to tell you over the phone, but you cut me off! I was waiting for the perfect time to tell you that weekend. I wanted to tell you before we got in too deep. I wanted to tell you before we… you know."

The Hylian girl scoffed rudely. "Well we all know how well that plan worked out…"

His raised an eyebrow at her, starting to get a little annoyed. "Don't _even_ begin to act smart with me, Zelda. We're already in some deep shit already. We don't need your petty remarks to make it worse."

Zelda's eyes began to widen at his tone; he's never spoken to her like _that_ before.

"…So now what?" She asked him. He furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion. "What do you mean, 'now what'?"

"I mean, what are we going to do now? We can't just go on with our lives, pretending that last weekend didn't happen, you know."

Link sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know…"

Zelda smiled mockingly and turned around. "Why did you have to accept Principal Rauru's offer?"

"How could I not, Zelda? It's not like I can tell the future. I didn't know you were going to call me. I didn't know that you were going to ask to spend the weekend with me. I didn't know that we were going to have sex. I told him I'd do it _before_ all this crap happened, so don't go around trying to fault me for all of this happening."

"But even then," she countered, "you should have known at least something would have happened, especially after school that day."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" He was beginning to lose his temper.

"Don't play dumb! We almost kissed that afternoon! That's more than enough of a hint that I wanted to be with you! We had it all, Link! We had it all, but then you had to take the job and now we're in deeper because of it!"

"Whoa, whoa! Excuse me!? I'm sorry for not paying attention to your 'hint,' but that's still no reason to place the blame on me! It takes two people to kiss, Zelda. It takes two people to have sex, and last time I checked, I'm just one person in his entire predicament! It's not my fault alone, Zelda; it's both of ours."

There was a short silence between them, and Link spoke up again.

"And even if I _did_ know, and that he offered me the job after we slept together, were you expecting me to turn him down?

The female blonde turned slowly to face him. "Now you understand, Link. You finally see things my way."

He was speechless. Completely and totally speechless. "You selfish, little bitch…"

He didn't really mean what he just said; he was too blinded by his aggravation that he wasn't thinking clearly, but that didn't stop Zelda from hurting. His words stung her in the most painful of ways, like he had just smacked her senseless and punched her in the stomach. Her fists clenched tightly at his insult so firmly her nails started to draw blood. Without thinking, she shoved him away and started for the exit.

"Zelda, come back here; we're not through talking." He regained his composure and proceeded to follow her. Noticing that he was catching up, she quickened her pace.

"You come in dragging me into this giant hell hole of a situation… You call me a selfish bitch… As far as I'm concerned, Link Avalon, we're through talking- about _anything_."

Before she broke out into a run, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back so forcefully he accidentally threw her against a wall.

"I said we're not done," Link stated coldly, staring at her square in the eye. She looked up, not able to look at him, and winced at the slight stinging sensation she felt in her spine upon her forceful contact with the granite wall.

"Let me leave," Zelda demanded.

"Not until we sort this entire thing out together," Link told her. "You'll stay here until we sort this entire thing out, or at least get an idea of what we're going to do for the time being. Like you said, pretending none of this is happening isn't the best decision."

"Why… why didn't you just back out afterwards?" Zelda asked him. "You could have just called him back, saying something came up that restricted you from teaching…"

Link heaved a loud sigh in frustration. "As if I could. You know perfectly well that I could not do that, as much as I wanted to. He's me friend; I can't just back out of something like that right after I agreed… And even if I did, what was I going to say? 'I can't teach anymore because I slept with one of my students. Sorry, Rauru.' Fat chance!"

Zelda nodded slowly. He did have a very good point. She felt him place his hands on her shoulders and squeeze them tightly. "Zelda, you know if I could… I'd change this whole thing around in a heartbeat. I'd do anything just so we can be together without any restrictions. I'd get rid of this fucking social taboo if I could… but I can't. What's done is done, and at this point, we can do nothing but move forward. There's no time for regrets…"

His words rang with cold, hard truth in her mind. She was so foolish to even think that they could be together, without being judged, without being questioned. By the looks of things, their chances of getting through this were very bleak, and if they continued this secret relationship, they'd run the risk of getting caught, and the chances of that happening increased with every second they spent together. She wanted to blame someone- _anyone_- for them not being allowed to come out as a couple, but she had no one to blame but themselves. The cold, hard reality was that it was their own damned faults that they are in this entire dilemma. Had they had more control over their emotions, keeping their adolescent wanting for each other under glass, none of this would ever be happening.

No. She was lying shamelessly to herself if she were to tell herself that it was both their faults.

All of this was _her_ _own_ doing, and her own alone.

It was her naiveté that told her that she could find a way to be with Link. She was so stupid of her to try to find a way to be with him. She should have just left it alone, but did not do so, and because of it, both her _and_ Link were paying the price for her idiotic actions. There was no denying it: was not Link who dragged them into this hell hole of a situation- it was no other than her.

Not only has she ruined her own life, she ruined the life of her love, and that was something she could never forgive herself for doing.

Link didn't deserve any of this. He had done nothing but his job: to teach her. He was merely doing what he was paid to do, and now he was slowly getting caught up in one of the most scandalous and seemingly hopeless quandaries anyone could ever hope to be in, and it was all because of her.

It was _her_ who should have had more control over their emotions, and it was _her_ who should have kept their adolescent wanting under glass.

This was proof to show her that Link _was_ right; she was nothing but a selfish, little bitch.

She said nothing. She didn't move. She stayed frozen. She did nothing.

All she did at that moment was cry.

Link watched the girl before break down into tears. She slumped down onto her bottom, and he heard a soft yelp as she hit the ground. Her hair fell so that it covered her face, and as if that wasn't enough, she looked down, trying to hide her shame and disgrace from him.

If there was anything that was more heart-wrenching to Link, it was watching a girl cry. It tore and tugged and pulled at his innards. He could not stand the sight of a girl breaking into tears, and could not handle the sound of a girl sniffling and choking on her own sobs, and the fact that it was Zelda of all people, crying in front of him, only made it worse.

He knelt down and took her in his arms, placing her head over his shoulder so that her chin was resting on his shoulder blade. She buried her face into his neck and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly for dear life, as if she were going to die if she ever let go. He rubbed her back reassuringly, trying to calm her down, but it did little to help her. He whispered softly into her ear, telling her that he was terribly sorry for insulting her, telling her not to blame herself for everything, and telling her that somehow, someway, they'd find a way to be together, free from the prohibitions that restricted their freedom to love another.

Link just did not understand what was so wrong with a teaching falling in love with a student. He's never questioned the rule up until recently, and as of late, it has started making less and less sense. Why was it so horrible that if there's even a suspicion that something may be going on, they were almost instantaneously excommunicated from society? Was it that much of a scandal that they'd write people off as an outcast just for even thinking about violating it? Whatever the answer may be, he would stop at nothing to find a way out of it, for the sake of his and Zelda's relationship.

It wasn't before long that Link slowly began to cry as well. He didn't know why exactly; he just started to cry. Perhaps it was because Zelda was crying? He always found a girl's tears infectious, that it made him want to cry as well. It's always been like that for him, and he was willing to bet that it was the same for a lot of other guys too. Even then, though, rarely did he ever cry; he honestly could not remember when he last did. Sure, he'd tear up, but that's about it. He'd never let the tears escape the brims of his eyes. Every time he felt he was going to shed tears, for his pride's sake, he blinked them away and tried his best to keep them hidden. He was a man, and men weren't supposed to cry.

The girl pulled away from him to see crystalline tears run down Link's cheeks, much to his disappointment. She smiled weakly and wiped his tears away with her jacket sleeve. Link chuckled and sniffled softly and cleared his throat.

"I love you Zelda…"

His words evoked more tears from her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. She choked softly and pecked him on his lips. "I love you too, Link…"

He leaned in to kiss her passionately, pressing her deeper and deeper into the wall. She pulled him closer to her to the point that their bodies were so tightly wrought together not even a germ could slide through between them. He began kissing down her neck, and slid his tongue back up where he started only to repeat the action again, much to her enjoyment.

"I promise you Zelda…" He started between kisses. "I'll find a way to make this relationship work… no matter what the cost."

"No… no you won't…" she whispered softly. The young man stopped his barrage of kisses to look at her in total confusion. She then smiled and added on to her first thought.

"_We'll_ find a way… together."

Link laughed quietly and dove back down to continue kissing his lover.

From behind a wall leading to the exit, a particularly round man in is late fifties, a large bald spot on the top of his head, and a bushy grey moustache with a deep, booming voice watched them intently, with an angry fire burning in his pupils so hot that he could probably drill holes through Link's head if he wanted to.

'_Link, you fool…'_

Then, the bell rang.

The man looked over to the clock that hung over the couple on the bathroom floor and he slowly took one last took at the duo slowly get up to their feet before he took off, leaving them behind just before they caught sight of him.

AT LINK'S HOUSE LATER THAT EVENING

Link was sitting at the dining room table with his laptop in front of him. It was rather late, around eight thirty, and he had just finished his essay. He pressed 'print' and the printer which his laptop was wirelessly hooked up to began whirring and started to print out his essay.

He walked over to the printer, waiting patiently for it to finish. Once it was done, he stacked them neatly together and place it next to his laptop. He picked up his tea from the coffee table and took a deep sip from it. It was then the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door, not looking through the monitor to see who it was, and opened it to see Rauru standing in front of him.

Rauru wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning. He didn't look very happy, nor did he look the least bit upset. His expression was emotionless, and that look sent chills up Link's spine. Whatever Rauru's reason was for being here, Link could tell it was urgent.

"Rauru…" Link spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"Link," Rauru started in a monotonous voice, "let's talk…"

The young Hylian nodded slowly, and then the older man continued.

"…About you and Zelda."

* * *

Cliffhanger moment… again. You're welcome. Sorry if this chapter isn't up to par. I make a reference to one of my other stories in this chapter- let's see who can find it. Review, please.

* * *

End time: December 13, 2006; 10:42 PM, PST

* * *


	10. Screwed

* * *

Start time: December 17, 2006; 8:32 PM, PST

* * *

This story got its one hundredth review from the user adrian-update on Thursday December 17, 2006 at 2:17:54 PM, PST! At least that's what Yahoo! Mail is telling me. :) Thanks to adrian-update for my hundredth review, and as well as all the other people who have reviewed thus far; the inspiration of my reviewers is unparalleled. Let's see who can be my two hundredth reviewer. :)

* * *

"…Huh?" 

Link suddenly had a very sour feeling in his stomach. He was unable to face Rauru in the eye anymore, so he diverted his gaze away from him. He moved his eyes everywhere: to the floor, at his hands, towards the wall behind Rauru- anywhere would have been perfect, as long as he didn't have to see the older man's cold, emotionless eyes for another nanosecond.

"I say, I want to talk about you and Zelda." Rauru repeated in the same monotonous voice.

"S...sure…" The blonde nodded in compliance and stepped out of the doorway to let Rauru in and slowly closed the door behind him, trying not to make any sound.

"Have a seat, Rauru," Link offered, gesturing to the sofa. The second his eyes hit the sofa, he felt his insides churn again, recalling what happened with Zelda the past Friday night, and the fact that Rauru was sitting on it did nothing to ameliorate the matter.

"…May I get you something to drink?"

The elderly man shook his head slowly. "No thank you."

Link nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets nervously, shifting his weight back and forth from his heels to his toes, rocking himself forwards and backwards slowly.

"Link…"

At the instant the blonde heard his name, his head snapped over so that he was facing Rauru. "Y…yes?"

Rauru patted the seat cushion to his left softly. "Take a seat."

Link hesitantly made his was over to the couch and slowly sat next to his friend, putting his hands together between his legs and twiddling his thumbs.

"Link?"

"Sir?"

"I'm sure you know perfectly well about the forbidden love between a teacher and his pupil."

"…Yes."

"And I rest assured at night because I know that you would not even dream about violating that rule."

Rauru saw Link's back straighten and his legs cross. He knew that whenever Link did that, it meant he was very apprehensive and uncomfortable, and he smirked to himself when he saw that his guilt trip was working to much success.

"Am I correct, Link?" The elder asked.

"…"

Rauru slowly cocked an eyebrow up and turned so that he was facing the side of Link's profile. "Link? I asked you a question."

There was another pause from Link. He said nothing. He made no sound. All he did was look straight forward, his chest heaving heavily and his thick bangs covering his eyes. Then, he slowly turned to face Rauru in return with a cold, firm stare across his face.

"You know, don't you?"

"I know nothing of what you are talking about, Link." Rauru replied, feigning ignorance.

"You know about Zelda and I, right? Admit it Rauru. You have no other reason for being here other than to discuss that." The blonde's eyes narrowed threateningly. "Admit it."

The older man said nothing. He merely smiled solemnly and nodded his head. "Yes, Link. I know."

Link scoffed softly and stood up, walking over to the middle of the living room. He crossed his arms around his chest, but he didn't face Rauru.

"For how long?" Link asked.

"Not too long," Rauru replied casually. "Since this morning. I saw you two in a rather intimate embrace in the girls' restroom in the Hylia Building. I'm only guessing that there was a lot more going on than hugging at that moment."

Rauru heard Link chuckle softly and brush a few strands of hair out of his face.

"How much do you know?"

The older man raised and eyebrow and leaned in. "Pardon?"

"How much do you know about Zelda and me?"

"I know enough to know that the relationship between the two of you is _anything_ but platonic… Why do you ask? Tell me Link: how much has been going on that I don't know about?" Rauru urged on.

The blonde turned around to face the man before him with a half smile on his face. "The less you know, Rauru… the better." He stated slyly.

As Link said that, every event that happened from his and Zelda's first meeting to the ordeal in the girls' bathroom played back in his mind.

"Heh…" Rauru snickered. "Don't make me play the guessing game, Link."

"…"

"So that's how you want it?" Rauru asked, raising his eyebrows. "Fine. We'll do it your way…" He moved over to Link and slowly walked in circles around the young man like a vulture just before it swoops down to snap at a carcass. It was funny, in a sense: both scenarios had their shockingly similar parallels, and for Link, such a comparison could not be more accurate, because that's exactly how he felt- like a dying animal with a merciless bird of prey encircling him just before he lands the finishing blow.

"We got kissing out of the way…" Rauru started. "Was there any cuddling?"

"…Yes."

"Any groping or grabbing?"

"…Yes."

"Did you two… sleep together?"

"…"

Rauru waited for his answer, but nothing came. Link said nothing. All he did was hang his head so that his blonde locks covered his face. Rauru stopped his pacing and raised an eyebrow at the young man's silence. The room was absolutely still; the only sound in the room was the soft whirring of the laptop on the dining table.

"Aha…" Rauru spoke, breaking the deafening silence. "So you _did_… Do you know if she's pregnant?"

Link swallowed hard at Rauru's question. He was about to say that he used protection, but he remembered that they had sex without any at all. But even then, as far as he knew, Zelda wasn't pregnant. At least she didn't show any signs that she was; she had no morning sickness, she had no bizarre food cravings, she had no mood swings... to the best of his knowledge, anyway.

"…I don't think so."

"You don't think so…" Rauru repeated his words in an almost mocking tone. "Do you know how much of a mess you are in if she _is_?"

"I would gladly help her care for the child if she were to give birth."

"I'm sure you would, Link. I admire your altruism… But what would her parents think? 'Mom, dad… I'm pregnant with my teacher's child. It's okay, though. I'm going to live with him so we can take care of it together!' What a rude awakening that would be, especially since she is their _only_ daughter- an only daughter who is _underage_, no less."

Link ran a hand through his hair in frustration and Rauru continued.

"Oh, Link… You never were able to keep your little friend down and zipped up. I've known about your little sexcapades with your girlfriends before, but to think that girls your age just were not satisfying enough that you had to go for innocent teenage girls… It certainly does not bode well when you tell her parents that... Just what _are_ you going to tell her parents…? If Zelda were to end up carrying your child?"

"I'd make them understand that I love her and I'd do everything in the world to support her!" Link shot back.

"Don't talk like it's so simple!" Rauru roared so loudly that it echoed throughout the room for ages. "Do you have _any_ idea of the seriousness of this!?"

"Do you actually think I _didn't_ think this whole thing through!?"

"So you _did_ have a plan! Enlighten me, Link: what were you going to do after you stripped a sixteen year old girl of her virginity and how you would plan to support you, her, and a child if she ends up pregnant?"

Link opened his mouth to say something… but no words came out, much to Rauru's amusement.

"Exactly Link- you _didn't_ think. All you thought about was whether she was worth you and your little friend's energy."

"Don't you _dare_ talk to me like that in my own house," Link snarled coldly, his blue eyes glowing with fury and rage at his so-called "friend."

"I may not know what I'm going to do next, but I _do_ know that I love Zelda deeply with all my heart and that should be more than enough for _anyone_."

"You are forgetting one thing, Mr. Avalon: she is your _student_!" Rauru yelled.

"Who the fuck cares if she's my student or not!? Why the hell is it so wrong for a teacher and student to fall in love!? What the hell is so immoral about that kind of relationship!?" The blonde's voice began to crack with emotion, and he felt stinging tears in his eyes, but rapidly blinked them back. "Rauru, please tell me. I really want to know."

"You really want to know Link!?" Rauru screamed outraged. "Fine, I'll tell you! It is scandalous! It is dishonorable! That taboo was created to keep the relations between an instructor and their pupil in check! To keep the student focused on their studies, while the teacher is focused on teaching! It entailed that the punishment for violating it is excommunication from society! Hyrule's society is very rigid, Link; you know that. The last thing anyone wants to do is to do something that would render them a social outcast for life! Without it, there would be utter chaos in the school system! Do you know what kind of upheaval that would create in the classroom!? Teachers and students sleeping with each other and getting the other pregnant! There would be no order in the classroom- only nothing but sex! Trust me Link, it is for everyone's good."

"That still isn't good enough of a reason!" Link complained.

"Fine! Too many big words for you!? How about I dumb it down for you!" Rauru cried exasperatedly. "It's to keep horny little bastards like you out of the pants of defenseless little girls like her! It's to prevent sick, perverts like Link Avalon from seducing and raping schoolgirls like Zelda Harkinian! I don't know who gave you your teaching credential, Link Avalon, but they were surely hiked up on drugs! They obviously did not know about how much of a sex crazed brat you are! You may have been the smartest in your class, but they say that the boys with the biggest brains also have the biggest libidos, and you Link, are the prime example!"

Link had heard enough from this man. Link was never one to lose his temper so quickly; it took a lot to make him truly angry, and what Rauru had just said- insulting him by calling him a "horny bastard" who thinks about nothing but sex, questioning his qualifications as a teacher, and threatening his intelligence- was more than enough to send him over the edge of blind fury. He wanted nothing more than to pummel Rauru down into a giant bloody pulp and to throw him over his balcony, but he know that was impossible; not only would he be known as the man who violated one of Hylian society's most restrictive relationship barriers, but the man who murdered Hyrule's most influential educational figures. He restrained himself from letting all hell break loose, and kept his composure.

"Leave," the young Hylian stated frigidly. He lifted his hand to point to the door to reinforce his statement.

Rauru raised an eyebrow and leaned in, not hearing what he said. "What was that?"

"Leave," Link reiterated. "_Now._"

The old man said nothing in reply. He slowly turned and headed for the door.

"Just in case you're wondering, Link," Rauru spoke as he walked, "I'm not going to fire you."

Link cocked an eyebrow and almost stepped back in surprise, but cemented his feet into the carpet. "How benevolent of you," he said with a tinge of sarcasm in his tone.

"I'm not going to spread slanderous rumors about you," he continued, "I am not going to reveal any of this to anyone. This is merely a secret between you, Zelda, and me."

"Oh?" Link crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do that? Aren't you concerned that I might try to take advantage of the other girls in my other classes?"

"Oh, Link… you were always so naïve." Rauru reached the door at last and turned around so that he was facing Link. "I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't dare to do that, provided the mess you're in after doing it once."

"Touché…" The blonde responded. "Then what exactly is your motive for keeping all of this a secret, when you could easily sing like a canary and expose me for the 'horny bastard' that I am?"

"You don't know how easy it would be for me to do that…" Rauru shook his lead slightly. "I just want to see how this will all work out. You and Zelda, I mean."

"What do you mean; you want to see how 'this will all work out'?"

"I overheard you and Zelda in the girls' bathroom this morning." Rauru started. "'I'll find a way to make this relationship work… no matter what the cost.' How passionately you spoke those words, and I have to say that it was very inspiring, albeit schmaltzy and clichéd…"

"And?" Link asked, urging the aged man to go on.

"I want you to follow through with your promise to Zelda. What you don't know about her is that her trust is very frail, although I bet it didn't seem that way when you two did whatever it is that you did Friday night. She has had her heart broken many times before by too many failed promises, and I would hate to see it broken again when you aren't able to pull through with this one."

"So what you're saying is that I'm now nothing but a pawn of your amusement…" Link spoke slowly, his tone beginning to grow dark.

"I wouldn't put it _that_ way…" Rauru scratched his chin. "But in a way, yes. While I could put you out of this misery by telling everyone across Hyrule high and low about what you did, I'm sending you to fix what you broke. Link, I'm not always going to be around to clean up your dirty messes like I have been doing before. I can't tell you how many times I've had to do that, and to be honest, I'm sick of it. So here's my sweet revenge. Both Zelda and I are putting our utmost confidence in you. We both know that you have what it takes to make all of this right… and it would be a shame if you let us both down… Time to be a man, Link. You know perfectly well that I'm known for my cruel and unusual punishments… let's just say that this is one of them."

Link's fists began shaking with rage, and his eyes began to glaze with fury ten times over. Just when he thought that he could not be in any deeper, Rauru had to come in and dig the hole to such unfathomable depths to the point that there was little hope of ever resurfacing.

"Well, I'm off." Rauru stated casually in a sing-song tone. He opened the door and before he closed it, he looked back at Link with an almost demonic smirk across his face. "Mr. Avalon… the floor is yours."

And with that, he slowly closed the door behind him.

Link was frozen in place. He couldn't breathe due to his breath caught in his throat, and he was rendered speechless at Rauru's cruel words, and to think that these two were actually good friends.

He stomped angrily into his room and threw himself on the bed. He grabbed a pillow and buried his face in hit. With one deep inhale, he began screaming at the top of his lungs, with the pillow diminishing much of what would have been a hell raising howl.

He screamed in rage, fury, irritation, and most of all, pure, unadulterated frustration. The tears he had been holding back earlier then spilled out, staining the fabric of the pillow case and wetting the sides of his cheeks. He had never felt so much pressure put on him in his life. The challenge of juggling his schoolwork and extracurricular obligations in high school didn't even compare to the stress he felt now, and maintaining a balance between school and extra time was one of the hardest things he had to face… up until now.

Link stayed like that for a while, letting out all of his pain into one long, lengthy scream until his voice was hoarse from all of his yelling to the point that he could not make another sound. The only sounds he made after that were the soft whimpers from his tears, and they slowly subsided so that he could finally fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

But before he was rendered unconscious, one last thought ran through his mind.

'_Link… you are _so_ fucking screwed.'_

* * *

Sorry that the chapter was short. But then again, I'd much rather have one short chapter that was really good, compared to one long, tedius chapter made up of nothing but filler. What did you think? Did you like, did you not like it? Hmm… I really hope you liked this chapter, everyone. Review, please.

* * *

End time: December 18, 2006; 10:52 AM, PST

* * *


	11. Lake Hylia

* * *

Start time: December 19, 2006; 11:49 AM, PST

* * *

Chapter eleven. NOTE: If you can't picture the triangular cut Link has, think about the one people like Usher have.

* * *

"Class is over, kiddies!" 

The entire classroom erupted in loathing groans as Link looked at them with a slight sweat drop running down his cheek.

It was last period on a Friday afternoon, and the dismissal bell had just rung, signaling the last school day of the year and the official beginning of Winter Break. It was four days after Link's ordeal with Rauru in his apartment, and he thought that it was best that Zelda was kept ignorant of their little argument.

"Jeez, guys!" Link cried out through soft chuckles. "It's Friday and it's sixth period! Winter Break starts today! Two weeks of no school! You'd think you'd be out the door by now, thanking the goddesses that it's the weekend!"

The class laughed heartily in unison at his half-sarcastic remark.

"But we were having so much fun!" Nabooru responded, gathering her books as she spoke.

That day, Link conducted an in-class project that his middle school history teacher did to him when he was in school. It was kind of like a court case, where everyone assumed the roles of different historical figures in ancient Hyrule. It was trying the King of Evil for his unleashing chaos throughout the land versus the people of Hyrule to see if his actions were justified or not, with Link himself taking the role of the judge. A group of students were assigned as the jury; some were the lawyers and attorneys for the plaintiff- who was the Hero of Time and the Princess of Hyrule; the rest were assigned roles as townsfolk such as the Gorons, Kokiris, Zoras, and lastly the six sages, all of whom presented their own cases, urging the jury to convict the King of Evil. On the side of the defendant were the King of Evil and his lawyers, the Gerudo, and the surrogate mothers of the King of Evil, the twin sorceresses, who in turn tried to persuade the jury into acquitting the King of Evil.

"You guys were having that much fun, eh?" Link asked them, scratching his head. The entire class made like bobble heads and nodded up and down.

"Heh… I can't blame you, though; I was the same when my teacher did this project."

"So you shouldn't be talking!" Kafei snapped back smartly with a smile.

Link laughed and brushed a few strands of hair from his face. "Touché."

"Boy, you sure do like that term, don't ya?" Fado asked, walking up to him.

Link looked down at him with a smile. He had to admit that he and Fado had their share of resemblances and similarities; they both had shaggy blonde hair; they both had some sort of musical aptitude: Fado played the violin in the school orchestra, and Link played the guitar and the ocarina on a number of occasions; Fado was also one of his best students- as far as academics go.

"So what if I do?" Link retorted jokingly, cocking an eyebrow.

"I'm just sayin' is all!" Fado defended, holding his hands in the air protectively.

"Good, now get outta here." Link stated, ruffling his hand rapidly through Fado's gold locks.

"Hey, watch the hair!" Fado snapped lightheartedly, slapping Link's hand out of his hair. The rest of the class laughed and slowly shuffled out of the room.

"Whoa there, mister conceited…" Link replied smiling, withdrawing his hand.

Fado rolled his eyes and started for the door to join the rest of the class, but before he left, he stopped shortly to speak to the teacher.

"Are you gonna stop by to see me and orchestra perform at the super pep rally?" Fado asked with a glisten of hope in his eyes.

"When is it?"

"The Friday after break ends. It's during lunch."

Link winked and gave him thumbs up. "I'll be there."

Fado nodded happily and started out the open door. "Cool! See ya later, Link!"

"Have a nice weekend, Fado!" Link called out after him.

He walked over to his desk to gather his papers and books and stuffed them into his backpack and set it slowly on the floor. He slumped down into his chair and rested his elbows on the desk, folding his arms.

Four days. In those four days he could have thought about something to remedy the situation with Zelda, but dismally came up short. Whenever Rauru passed him by in the hallways or the teacher's lounge, it was always the same taunting remarks. "How's our promise coming along?" "Have you found a way yet?" "How does it feel to be under _so_ much pressure?" He was under enough stress as it is; he didn't need Rauru's badgering to make it worse- as if it _could_ get any worse.

'_As if it _could_ get any worse.'_

Then he thought about Zelda. She had skipped her last two periods to go to the doctor's to get a pregnancy test, after Link's much urging and pressing, as if she wasn't smart enough to do it _without_ his asking. Zelda text messaged him during fifth period, saying that she would be back at the school around dismissal time with the news. Ever since then, he had been waiting impatiently, apprehensively pacing in his mind at what kind of information he would get from her.

"Knock, knock." He heard a voice speak softly.

Link abruptly turned to see Zelda at the door, smiling at him.

"Hello," she spoke.

He merely smiled weakly and waved. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"How did it go?" Link asked, getting up from his seat.

"The waiting was terrible, as always." The female joked.

He smiled and approached her, wrapping his arms around her. "Are you… you know…"

Zelda shook her head and looked at him. "Am I what?"

"You know… 'Knocked up'?"

She slightly cringed and swatted her hand against his chest. "Don't say it like that! It sounds so vulgar."

The male Hylian rolled his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Whatever. But really, Zelda. Quit beating around the bush; are you pregnant?"

"…What would you do if I said yes?"

Upon her question, Link immediately turned a sickly sea green color. "Are you saying… you are?"

"I never said that," Zelda rationalized, "I just asked what you would do if I _was_ pregnant."

"So you aren't…" Link whispered quizzically. "You wouldn't have emphasized the 'was' if you were."

"Just because I emphasize a past-tense word, it automatically means I'm not pregnant?"

"Damn it, Zelda!" He cried in frustration. He let her go and walked away; turning so his back was facing her. "You play around too much!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked through giggles.

"This is no laughing matter!" Link shot back, turning around. "My child could be there in your womb as we speak," he pointed to her belly area, "and you make jokes about it!?"

"Hold your cuccos, Link! I'm not pregnant!" Zelda exclaimed, laughing at his expense.

"Do you know how…" He stopped mid-sentence and his eyes widened. "W… what was that?"

"I said I'm not pregnant!" She repeated, marginally raising her voice.

The young man beamed widely and dashed over to her and scooped the poor girl into his arms.

"Link!" She squealed in delight. "Put me down!" She started beating against his chest, and he laughed in reply, proceeding to spin her around.

After much protesting, he complied with part of her request and stopped spinning, but didn't ground her.

Link felt as if a heavy burden was just lifted off of his shoulders. If it weren't for the circumstances he was under, he would have cursed the goddesses that she wasn't expectant. But at any rate, he would be more than happy to help her care for a child if she were pregnant; it would be indecent and immoral for him not to, since it would be _his_ child that she would be laden with.

He looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled warmly at her, and she beamed in return. She encircled her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a passionate kiss. He moaned deeply into her mouth and trailed soft kisses down her neck and ended at her cleavage, which was amply exposed by her top, but not to the point that she looked promiscuous.

"I love you, Zelda…" He groaned, his voice filled with desire and need.

"I love you too, Link…" She whispered. "But let's just remember… that it was this kind of behavior that got us into this whole mess in the first place."

Her reminder caused him to stop almost instantaneously and looked up at her with a half smile. "…Right."

The female chuckled and buried her face in his neck, nuzzling his warmth. Link then sensed someone was watching them.

He looked up at the door, and through the narrow window on it was Rauru staring at him with a very serious face.

Outside the door, the aged man gazed intently at the young Hylian glaring back at him.

'_So she is not pregnant after all,'_ Rauru mused as he overheard the duo's conversation from out the door. _'No matter… He still has a _long_ way to go before he's out of the Lost Woods…'_

Link hardened his gaze at the old man staring at him through the window. Time seemed to have frozen as they bored their fixated glares on one another. He saw an eerie, spine tingling malevolent grin appear on Rauru's face, and the older man slowly walked away, not taking his eyes off of him.

Zelda felt him tense and she lifted her head to look up at him with wondering eyes. "What's the matter?"

He snapped back to reality and looked down to see her staring at him concernedly. He shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing," he reassured. He slowly and reluctantly set her down on her feet, and she dusted off her miniskirt.

"…How about you and I go to Lake Hylia tomorrow to commemorate your non-pregnancy?" Link offered, quickly lightening the mood. "We could go swimming at the beach or something!"

Zelda laughed. "Are you serious? Swimming in December?"

"Sure! I mean, it never gets cold in southern Hyrule!" Even Link had to admit that he was overreacting just a tad bit, but then again, who wouldn't, especially taking the whole situation into account?

"Well… I have a lot of chores tomorrow…"

Link's smile faltered depressingly. "Aww, come on Zel! I mean, could you resist this face?" He put on his most charming grin and tilted his head to the side, poking his dimples with his index fingers and turning them slightly.

Zelda's resolved weakened and she gave in. "I… suppose they can wait..."

Link beamed widely and hugged her tightly. "Great! You'll have a fun time!" He kissed her of the lips softly and stroked her cheek with his thumb lovingly. "I promise."

Zelda put her hand on his back of his own and nodded slowly with a smile.

'_And this is a promise I know damn well for sure I won't break.'_

11:09 AM: ZELDA'S HOUSE

After much begging on Zelda's part, she talked her parents into letting her go to Lake Hylia that day, although they were quite reluctant to do so. Then again, Zelda has been working very hard in school as always, and they figured that she could use a break.

She sat at her desk, clad in a white short sleeved shirt that showed her midriff and a red plaid miniskirt with a blue bikini underneath, talking to Saria and Malon. Those two were the only people she told about what went on in Link's apartment last weekend, and being the faithful friends they were, did not tell another soul about it. She offered for them to come with her and Link, but they refused, with Malon saying that she was busy at the ranch and Saria was working later today, and even if they were available, they both told her that they would refuse anyway because it was "Zellie and Linky time."

"Zelda!" A male voice called from outside her open window.

She whirled over to look at her window to see where the voice was coming from. She got up from her desk and leaned out to see Link looking up at her from the front seat passenger window.

"Let's go, Zel!" He exclaimed, exuberantly.

The female laughed and nodded, closing her window. She picked up her backpack filled with sunscreen, a blanket, a towel, and other things, and quickly typed a farewell to Malon and Saria before turning off her computer. She ran down the stairs and past her parents so quickly that she almost made them spin.

"I'm going now!" She told them. She ran back and kissed them on the cheek quickly and started for the door.

"Bye, Zelda!" Her mom yelled.

"Have fun, sweetheart!" Her dad called.

Zelda waved goodbye and closed the door behind her. Her parents laughed softly at her antics and went back to cleaning.

"Have you seen that boy?" Her father asked.

"From the window," her mother replied. "Why do you ask?"

He stopped pushing the swiffer duster across the floor and rested his chin on the tip of the handle. "What does he look like?"

"He's a fine looking young man. The spittin' image of the Hero of Time himself!" She gushed.

The Harkinian patriarch chuckled and rubbed his chin. "That so, eh? How old does he look?"

"About seventeen or eighteen, I think. Probably no older than twenty-one."

He nodded and his wife went on. "He looks like he has a lot of knowledge in that head of his."

"Oh really?" He looked out the window to see Link helping Zelda into the car like a true gentleman. He looked back at his wife and continued to sweep the floor with his swiffer duster. "He does look like quite the genius… I bet he'd make one hell of a teacher."

11:32 AM: LAKE HYLIA

From Hyrule Castle Town, it would usually take a few hours to get to Lake Hylia on foot, but seeing as how this is the twenty-first century and not medieval Hyrule; it takes a little under half an hour by car.

When Link and Zelda got there, there were a lot of people, but not a ridiculous amount. It was mainly Zoras who travel through the tunnel that leads to here from Zora's Domain, a giant rock shelter grotto that is home to the Zora population, oh which there are a little over one million; some Gerudo who most likely are trying to escape the sweltering heat the Desert Colossus and Gerudo Valley experiences year-round, and some tourists from the neighboring countries of Termina, Labrynna, Holodrum, and Koholint Island.

Lake Hylia itself is the most expansive lake in the world; some parts of which are too remote to venture out too- even for the Zora. It's so vast that you can't see the lake's end from the main shore, and some even wonder if it's really a lake, or merely a small bay that opens out into the ocean that borders Termina; the horizon is that far out. The water is said to be blessed with small but strong healing powers, being that it is fed by the holy Zora's River, which starts southeast atop a high plateau above Zora's Domain known as Zora's Fountain, flows down a waterfall northwards passing by the entrance to Kakariko Village, then west across the northern border of Hyrule Field, serving as a now obsolete moat for Hyrule Castle Town, making its way south as it cuts through the deep canyon of Gerudo Valley, eventually ending up here. The Water Temple, a shrine built by the Zoras to honor the water spirits, is submerged beneath the lake's crystal depths, which served as a key point in the Hero of Time's quest to save Hyrule from the King of Evil. The Water Temple is off guards to all except the members of the Zora Royal Family, but even without the off-limits law, there is very little chance that anyone would be able to even reach it, since it is so far down the lake's deepness that only Zoras can reach it, or a human wearing a special garment enabling underwater breathing that is issued by the Zora Royal Family. On a map of Hyrule, to the north is Gerudo Valley, to the west is the Great Bay, a large ocean that Lake Hylia is rumored to be an inlet of, to the south is Labrynna, and to the east is the Lost Woods, a vast area of woodland forest that is aptly named due to the fact that many a traveler go in, but almost never do they come out. There is also a lakeside laboratory, home to an eccentric scientist who is rumored to have lived hundreds, maybe thousands of years past his original lifetime due to an "elixir of life" that he made, and it was said that he met the Hero of Time himself during his quest to emancipate Hyrule from the King of Evil's reign. There is a fishing pond adjacent to the lake that is home to a very rare type of fish: the Hylian Loach. Only five hundred remain in existence due to overfishing in Hyrule's history, with five living in the pond, twenty living in captivity at the Hylian International Zoo in Hyrule Castle Town, and the rest making its home in the pristine waters of Lake Hylia. Under Hylian Government jurisdiction, if you catch the fish in the pond, you are required to let loach back into the water, and failure to do so, or inflicted harm on these fish, will result in a fine that can reach as _low_ as a hundred thousand rupees, and as _high_ as a few million. There is also an affluent seaside resort village, filled with upscale designer stores and five star hotels and eateries, which is home to a couple thousand people, but are very wealthy as they control the tourism activity that goes on in this lake, and since Lake Hylia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, you can imagine that they rake in 'the big money' on a very regular basis.

"Have you ever been here before?" Link asked as he let a warm breeze sweep past him. He altered his aviator glasses so the sun's rays didn't get in his eyes.

"Only a couple times," Zelda replied. "How about you?"

"Once a summer," he responded. "Mainly with friends."

They walked down across the grass until it eventually became sand. Link stopped for a second to take off his Converse shoes and Zelda slipped out of her platform sandalettes, and they continued barefoot across the white sand, dodging the occasional beach ball here and there.

After a few minutes, they finally found the perfect spot to settle. It was within a short walking distance within the water, but not so close that everything would wash away into the lake once a tide sets in, it was far enough from the many beach volleyball nets and Frisbee games around so that they didn't get hit by anything, and it was fairly close to the restrooms and the numerous food stalls around the area. Link pulled a giant blanket from his backpack and laid it out on the warm sand.

Zelda slowly took off her shirt, causing many of the young men around them, most of who looked like high school seniors and college frat boys, to gawk at her toned stomach. She pulled down her short skirt to reveal her bikini thong and her sensual legs, which was more than enough to blind many of the males- including Link- with desire ten times over.

Link also pulled his tank top over his head, his taut muscles flexing as he did so, an action that caused almost all of the females around him; some of the girls in the middle of volleyball games were hit by beach balls due to their lack of attention to the game because they were too distracted by Link. He stretched out his arms quickly, loosening his limbs and pulled down his green cargo shorts marginally, revealing his triangular cut that went from his hips and went diagonally down his hips.

Zelda did the trust fall onto the blanket and landed with a soft 'oomph.' Link laughed at her and pulled out a giant umbrella and popped it open, laying it down so that the shade covered Zelda's face from the sun.

"Any better?" He asked. She nodded and opened her eyes to look at him. "Very much so," she replied.

Zelda reached for her backpack and pulled out a tube of sunscreen and handed it to the male blonde.

"Would you allow me to honor you by applying it to my back?" She asked with a stuck-up tone. Link chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "_Excuse_ me, princess…"

She laughed and he took the sunscreen from her and helped her sit up. He popped open the cap with his thumbnail and squeezed a generous amount of the contents onto his hands. He set the container aside and rubbed his hands vigorously together and pressed them onto the girl's back. She yelped in surprise, to Link's amusement, and he rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"Mmm…" She groaned. She pulled her legs closer to her and rested her chin between her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs. She looked out to the water, watching the kids splash around freely.

"Done," Link told her. Zelda turned to look at him smiling at her. She thanked him and grabbed the sun tan lotion.

"How about we do the front side, now?" He asked slyly, reaching out for her chest. She squealed and swatted his hands away from getting any closer. "Eww, Link!"

He laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Just a suggestion is all!"

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small vial of sunscreen. "Can you put some on my back?"

The female blonde nodded and reciprocated his actions, applying the sunscreen over his lower back, up to his scapula, and massaged some onto his shoulders.

"There," she said, handing the tiny container to him.

"Thanks." He took the vial and set it aside. He leaned over to Zelda and took her hand in his, leading her to the water.

They spent the next few hours, wading in the water, playing water tag in the deep ends and chasing each other in the sand. The two fished over at the fishing pond shortly, and they ended up on a wooden bridge connecting the mainland to a small island. Zelda was standing over the edge, watching the waves lick the sand and the many children play in the tides.

Link approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I still can't believe I caught that giant lunker, and you got a soggy old boot!" Zelda cried in a fit of giggles.

Link rolled her eyes and shook his head. "Whatever, Zel. I just lost my concentration is all."

The young girl's giggles turn into a hearty laugh at his excuse. "You're too cute!"

"Is that so?" He asked, with a growing hint of playfulness in his voice. Zelda took notice and raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing…" The boy smirked. He took a firm hold on her shoulders and pushed her into the lake.

Zelda screamed in terror, her voice echoing throughout the area, causing some attention to her and Link, and just before she fell off the bridge, Link took her by the shoulders again and retracted her back onto the bridge.

She whirled around to Link caught in a ringing laughter at her expense. "You're hilarious!" The male cried out.

"That was so rude!" Zelda pouted, placing her hands on her hips in a sassy manner.

"I really needed that laugh," he proclaimed, wiping a tear from his eye as his laughter slowly died down. Zelda cocked an eyebrow and gave him a playful shove over the bridge. "Oops!"

Link stumbled back and fell head first into the water in a giant splash. Zelda laughed loudly as Link resurfaced, rapidly shaking his hair like a wet dog. He looked up at her and wiped the water droplets off his face.

"What the hell was that for!?" He yelled.

The female tried to suppress her laughter and answered his question. "You know what they say Link: karma's a bitch and so am I!" She stuck her tongue out and kneeled down.

Link raised an eyebrow and bushed a few strands of wet hair that was sticking on his face away.

"'Karma's a bitch' is right!" He exclaimed, and with a surprising display of physical ability, jumped out of the water and grabbed Zelda's hand. Her eyes widened like an owl and before she could do anything to defend herself, gravity came into play, and pulled both Link and Zelda down into the blue water, resulting in one giant splash.

Underwater, they both swam around one another, racing each other to the mainland to see who could swim faster. Link, being a varsity diver in college, easily out swam Zelda by a large margin, and it was a few seconds before she resurfaced onto dry land.

"That was no fair, Link! You're half-Zora or something!" Zelda complained playfully, grabbing a towel from her backpack as they approached their settlement.

Link laughed and wiped his face with his own towel. He was about to reply when he heard a child's voice speak his name from behind.

"Link?"

Both he and Zelda turned around to see a group of little children looking up at him.

"Yes?" He knelt down to the young boy before him.

"Do you remember us?" The boy asked.

Link took a long, hard look at the boy, when it clicked in his mind.

"Colin!?"

"Yeah!" The boy cried out. "You remembered me!"

Link took the boy named Colin into a warm embrace. "How have ya been, buddy!?"

"I'm good!" Colin replied smiling.

Link got up and looked over to Zelda. "Zel, these are kids that I subbed for a few days last year at Kakariko Elementary." He turned back to the group of children. "Kids, this is Zelda, my friend."

Colin and his friends 'ooh'ed and waved at her. "Hi Zelda!" They all said in unison. Zelda smiled brightly and waved back.

"She's really pretty!"

"I like her!"

"Are you two going out?"

The rest of the kids laughed at the last question, and both Link and Zelda blushed slightly.

"Well uh… anyway…" Link started, dodging the question. "They were all in kindergarten the last time I saw them," he told Zelda.

"Hey!" Colin yelled, getting both their attention. "We ain't no kindergarteners no more!"

"Yeah!" A girl exclaimed. "We're first graders now!"

Link beamed down at them. "Is that so? It must be really exciting, yeah?"

Colin nodded rapidly. "It sure is!"

"So what brings all of you here today?" Link asked them.

"It's my birthday today!" Colin responded happily.

"Oh, wow! Happy birthday!" Link exclaimed, giving Colin a high five.

Zelda smiled at Colin and knelt down. "Happy birthday, Colin!" She kissed him on the cheek, causing his face to redden goofily and many of the other boys laughed.

"I can't wait until it's _my_ birthday!" A boy whispered to another, fawning over Zelda's beauty.

"That's cool! How old are ya, little man?" Link asked.

"I'm six now!" He replied, holding up _seven_ fingers.

The young man laughed and ruffled his hand through Colin's hair. "How exciting! Ten more years and you'll be able to drive!"

All of them including Link and Zelda laughed.

"Mr. Link, won't you play with us?" Another girl asked him.

"Yeah, Link! Come and play!" They all started chanting.

"Well…" The blonde started, scratching the back of his head. "If Zelda here lets me…"

The group of children and Link turned to her with hopeful eyes. She laughed and nodded. "Go ahead."

All the kids began cheering and they pulled Link away. Zelda giggled and sat down on the blanket, watching Link and the children play.

They played tag, hide and seek, tossed a Frisbee around, and even played Marco Polo, with Link being 'it.' After two hours, Link was utterly exhausted, while the kids were still bouncing around, full of energy, much to Zelda's amusement.

"Guys…" Link huffed. "Let's take a break, yeah?"

The children looked at him and they laughed as he tiredly collapsed backwards onto the sand. They ran over to him and encircled him. He seemed to have been unconscious.

"What do you think he's doing?" Colin asked his friends.

"Is he sleeping?" One boy asked.

Link's eyes suddenly popped open and he hopped up to his feet. "Who wants to get eaten up by the monster!?"

The children all squealed and yelled playfully as they all dispersed in every which direction, with Link chasing after them, scooping them up in his arms. Zelda watched from afar, laughing as Link let his inner child out. She didn't know many guys who would enjoy playing with kids, and she thought guys who knew their way with kids was incredibly attractive, adding to his already overflowing sex appeal.

"I want a man like that," she heard a girl whisper to her friend.

"He's gonna be my baby's daddy!" The other whispered back.

"He's super sexy too!" The first girl commented.

"…Too bad he seems to be taken by that blonde chick over there…" The second girl lamented, diverting her eyes off Link to Zelda. She was about to look at the brunette duo, but she restrained herself, and kept her eyes on Link chasing the children.

…

It was five o'clock, and Link was lying of the sand again, with the kids huddled around him, burying his body in sand with their plastic pails and shovels, leaving only his neck and head above the sand.

"Hey Miss Zelda!" Colin called out. The girl looked up to see the little boy waving at her. "Come help us!"

Zelda hesitated at first, and Link lifted his head to glance at her. "You better do what they say; you might end up like me!"

She laughed at her comment and decided to play along, and ran over to them. A girl offered her a shovel, and they continued to pile sand upon Link's body.

"Oh no!" A boy cried out. "Link is bodiless now!"

At that point, all trace of Link having a body was under the sand, and his head was the only thing left remaining. Zelda and the children laughed at the boy's joke, and Link smirked playfully. He slowly got up, causing the giant mound of sand to disappear. He roared loudly like a dinosaur and many of the children started to run away, laughing all the while.

Link brushed the sand off his torso, and Zelda dusted off his back and shoulders. Link pulled back the elastic waistband on his shorts, letting some sand underneath the pants legs to fall to the ground.

"Hey guys," the young man started. "How about we all get ice cream? My treat!"

The children howled and jumped for joy at his offer. "Yeah!"

Link ran over to his backpack for his wallet and they all started for an ice cream stand.

Link asked for eleven ice cream cones from the man at the stall, one for each of the children and for Zelda and himself. He handed a red rupee worth twenty rupees and he took the last two cones from the man and handed one to Zelda and kept the last for himself.

"Keep the change, good man," Link told him. The stall keeper smiled at him and stuffed the red rupee into his pocket. "Thank you!"

"Thanks, Link!" All the kids yelled in unison.

"What's the celebration for?" The stall keeper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That boy's birthday over there," Link pointed to Colin, who was practically inhaling his ice cream, "and her non-pregnancy." He gestured over to Zelda.

"Strange…" The man commented quizzically. "Most couples I know would dread the information that they weren't expecting a child."

Both Link and Zelda laughed at that. "It's a long story," Zelda said.

"I'm sure it is," the man replied. "I mean, I suppose I'd celebrate too if I had that many children…" He pointed his thumb to the group of nine kids.

Link chuckled at that. "Those aren't ours. They're students I used to substitute for."

Link, Zelda, and the stall keeper said good bye, and just before they left, Link heard the keeper speak.

"I'm sorry little girl; we're all out."

Link turned to him and saw him talking to a girl who looked no older than five.

"Oh… Thank you anyway." She lowered her head in sadness and proceeded to walk away.

Link's eyes were fixated on the little girl, and Zelda cocked an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Link?"

He said nothing; he walked up behind the little girl and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to see him holding out his ice cream cone to her.

"You can have mine," he offered.

"Oh no," she replied gracefully. "I can't take it; it's yours!"

"No, really! I want you to have it," he urged. He gave her a genuine smile, and she smiled back.

"Wow, thanks mister!" She gratefully accepted the cone and kissed him softly on the cheek before taking off. He got up and headed back over to Zelda, who was grinning at him. They proceeded to walk back, when he noticed her smiling and he smirked. "What?"

"That was really nice of you to do that."

"Well…" he started, "I'm a sucker for the opportunity to do a good deed."

She chuckled and offered to share her ice cream with him. He leaned in to take a lick, tasting the strawberry, and thanked her. "Thanks, Zel."

"Hey; that's karma for you," she winked.

"Hey Link!" Colin called from behind them. The two turned around to see the kids dressed and packed up. "Our parents are taking us home now."

"Oh, okay," Link replied rather glumly. He knelt down and embraced the child. "It was really nice seeing you again." He let go of him and looked at his friends. "And all of you, of course."

He hugged the other eight, and Zelda did the same, kissing the boys on their cheeks softly, causing them to gush boyishly.

"Happy birthday Colin," Link and Zelda said to him simultaneously.

"Thank you!" He exclaimed. They all turned around to run back to their parents, who were waiting for them at the parking lot.

"Bye Link! Bye Zelda!" They called out from the distance.

…

It was twilight, and Link and Zelda were almost the only ones left at the lake, with a few other couples around, and a group of teen's far off, lighting a bonfire. Hylia Village, the seaside town that was ten minutes down the way was illuminated with bright lights, and they reflected off the glistening waters of Lake Hylia. The stars were beginning to appear, and the sun was slowly fading away into the horizon. The area was pretty quiet, except for the faint hustle and bustle of Hylia Village, the chattering of the teenage group around the bonfire, and a soft, whimsical melody that always seems to emanate from deep within the Lost Woods.

"Did you have a fun time?" Link asked Zelda, wrapping the blanket around them tighter.

"Yes, I did. It was wonderful," she replied, cuddling closer to his naked torso. Link was still without a tank top, while Zelda had changed back into her shirt and skirt.

He kissed her softly on the cheek and nuzzled her neck lovingly. "I'm glad you did."

"You know," she started, "You're really good with children."

He shrugged and yawned softly. "I dunno. I've always loved kids. They make me feel young."

The female giggled. "After seeing you with Colin and his friends this afternoon... it kind of made me feel bad that I wasn't really pregnant."

He made a half smile and looked at her. "Really?"

"Yes." She took his hands in her own. "You would make an excellent father."

"Hmm... Are you still trying to make the pitch?"

She shook her head slowly. "No, of course not... At least for now, anyway."

She pulled is head closer to hers and pressed her lips against his, catching him in a soft, passionate kiss.

As they watched the sunset fade into the distance, the Hylian Loach jumped out of the water, somersaulting in mid-air, and splashed down into the deep crystal waters of Lake Hylia.

* * *

I'm a real sucker for that trashy romance stuff. Could you tell at the end? Haha, I knew it. This chapter was more of a diversion away from the main storyline, rather than developing and continuing the main plot. I mean, it does that too; just not as much as the last two chapters did. I thought you guys might need a break from all the drama, since it was happening all so fast, but if you're one of those drama geeks, I apologize for not adding drama to your already drama filled lives. 

"No, of course not... At least for now, anyway." What does THAT mean? Foreshadowing alert!

The project they did in history was based off a project I did last year in eighth grade in history, only it was an atom bomb trial with the US President against the Japanese people, trying the president to see if the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. You learn more and more about me every chapter. Want my autobiography? Read my stories; there's bound to be something at least semi-autobiographical in one of the chapters. XD. Review please.

* * *

End time: December 19, 2006; 11:10 PM, PST

* * *


	12. Stranded in Hylia Village

* * *

Start time: December 23, 2006; 12:54 PM

* * *

Chapter twelve. Just so you know, this chapter I don't think will have any major plot advancements. I'm building momentum for the drama and plot progression. This chapter is basically a departure from the drama of the whole student-teacher relationship thing, so put your feet up and take a break. There's a lot of light-heartedness in this chapter, and there's probably more humor in this one chapter than the other eleven combined. 

NOTE: Before you read any further, go back to chapter six and read the paragraphs right after the scene change from Link's car to Downtown Hyrule Castle Town, and then read the additional author's note at the end of that chapter. I added them yesterday. You'll understand Hyrule in this alternate universe more, since I go into some depth about the information in chapter six early in this chapter. Tell me what you thought about the description of Hyrule in the twenty-first century in your review.

* * *

"Nnn…" 

Zelda stirred softly, the morning light spilling into her vision. Tears formed in her eyes as the light temporarily blinded her, and she wiped them away, blinking a few times to clear her eye sight.

She noticed her torso and the left side of her face were pressed against something too firm to be a mattress. She heard and felt a soft pulsating, rhythmic thumping sound coming from it as well. She lifted her head, trying to see what it was that she was resting on.

She noticed it was a man's bare chest, and she looked up to see Link's face, a faint smile on his lips, snoring softly, and his heavy bangs covering much of his eyes, with the rest sprawled out upon the pillow his head was lying on, making it look like a golden aura emanated from him.

For a second, she was confused why Link was in a bed with her- not that she was complaining- and why she was in a room that clearly wasn't hers or his.

The window curtains and the bed comforters and blankets were forest green with golden floral designs embroidered onto them, sliding doors that seemed to open out to a balcony was on the wall she was facing when she woke up, there was an oak vanity desk with a coffee maker, microwave, and a tray filled with different amenities on it, an open armoire with a television inside it, a small table with two seats, and hers and Link's backpack settled next to a wall.

She then remembered what happened the night before.

It was eight o'clock at night when she and Link decided to go back to Hyrule Castle Town, but as the approached the freeway leading to the city; it was completely backed up for as far as the eye could see. The entire highway was illuminated with a reddish hue due to all the break lights. Some cars even turned off their engine, realizing that it would take a while before they began moving. It turned out that since that day was the day Winter Break started in all of the world's school districts, families from within and outside of Hyrule began their road trips to and from the country to visit relatives or to conduct other business of that nature. She recalled that on the trip to Lake Hylia, she saw the opposite side of the freeway en route to the city was somewhat congested, but not to the same, dreadful extent as that evening; in the afternoon, cars were actually moving. She heard in the car radio that both Rinku and Sheikah International Airports were experiencing severe delays due to snow flurries, and that global flights actually had to be moved to the already packed Hyrule International Airport, marking the first time in fifty years that Hyrule Airport served intercontinental passengers since Rinku Airport's opening. Since flights were postponed, and many of the intercontinental subway and train routes were full and congested, people seemed to have thought that car travel was second best. Figuring that at the traffic's rate, if they waited on the freeway, they would reach the city by daybreak, Link U-turned just before boarding the on ramp and drove back to Hylia Village to stay at one of the low cost inns, since they did not have the money nor the reservation for a high-end hotel such as the Four Seasons. Luckily, after much searching, they found a lodge with a vacancy, and it generously situated on the town's boardwalk adjacent to Lake Hylia. She called her parents during the car ride, telling them that she would be staying at the lake because of heavy traffic, and much to her relief, they did not put up much of a fight over the matter, which she found surprising, since she would be staying the night with a _man._

She smiled inwardly at Link's sleeping figure and kissed him tenderly on his lips. This caused a soft groan to escape his lips and he turned his head in the opposite direction, subconsciously pulling the teenage girl closer to his body. She felt his length poke her gently from underneath the silk fabric of his boxers, causing her to giggle quietly. She turned to the digital clock on the nightstand.

'_11:11 AM.'_

Zelda chuckled and tucked a few tresses of hair behind her ear.

'_Make a wish, Zelda!'_ She mentally shouted youthfully. _'…I wish that I had that Chanel purse I found at Castle Town Market!'_ She thought back to the white Chanel handbag she saw at the purse store at the Castle Town Market, the oldest open air shopping district in Hyrule.

'_I wish… I wish Link and I could be together without keeping our relationship a secret…'_

She smiled wistfully and saw the time change to eleven twelve the second after she made her wish.

The blond girl looked back at Link, who was wide awake, beaming up at her. She gasped sharply in surprise, taken aback by his silent awakening.

"When did you get up, you little sneak?" She teased, pecking him on the lips.

He slipped his hand between his head and the pillow, resting the back of his head on his palm. "While you were staring at the clock. What were you doing, anyway?"

"Making some wishes," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone, to which he cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes at his obliviousness. "Don't you know that whenever it's 11:11, you make a wish?"

"Hmm… Do you really?"

Her eyes widened slightly. "You mean you didn't know that?"

"Nope," he shook his head. "I guess I'm just ignorant like that."

She laughed and dove in to him, nuzzling his neck warmly.

"So tell me, Zel… what did you wish for?"

"I can't do that. If you tell someone what you wish for, it won't come true! Jeez, you really _are_ ignorant about these things."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I may not know much about the art of wishing, but I do know that wishes and dreams always come true, as long as you truly believe it can happen. As far as I'm concerned, one person genuinely believing is all it takes for a wish to come true, no matter how far fetched it may be."

Zelda raised her head to look at him. "I've always dreamed and wished and hoped that I'd find the perfect girl for me," he continued. "I believed, and now, she's right on top of me, staring me straight in the eye. _That_ wish came true, right?"

She smiled at him and pressed her lips against his, and withdrew slowly. "Yes, I suppose it did come true, and yeah, I guess you are right."

"Yep," he said. "So… _Now_ will you tell me what you wished for?"

The girl laughed and nodded. "I wished for that Chanel bag. You remember, right?"

Link nodded slowly. He almost laughed but fought the urge, not wanting to give her the idea that he was laughing at the surrealism of her wish. He almost laughed at the fact that the same Chanel handbag she pined for was sitting under his bed, wrapped neatly in red and gold wrapping paper.

"Hmm…" He started. "You never know; it just might come true one of these days."

She scoffed softly at that. "Are you kidding?"

"Hey now…" He told her in an almost scolding tone. "All you gotta do is believe, right?"

Zelda thought about it for a second, and then a smirk crept upon her lips. "Right." She kissed him again, "all you gotta do is believe."

There was a long silence, but was neither cold nor awkward. It was very peaceful; they did nothing but remain locked in each other's embrace, with the occasional rustling of the sheets whenever they moved.

"So Link…" Zelda started, and the blonde looked up at her.

"What do you want for Christmas?"

He thought long and hard about her question, and he eventually answered.

"…Nothing."

She was taken aback somewhat, and he continued talking.

"I'm happy with what I have. I don't need a whole lot. I already have all I need to get by. I have a place to call home… I have my health… I have a family… I have you…" He lifted his head to kiss her on the forehead. "That's really all I need. You don't have to get me anything; I'm fine."

She mused to herself. She was expecting him to blurt out something flashy or expensive: a stereo system, a Playstation 3, a million rupees, a new car- things you'd expect a guy to say when you ask them what they want as a present. But the response she got- that he was sufficient with what he already had, that he really didn't need anything- caught her kind of off guard.

"…Are you sure?" She asked him. He nodded in reply. "I'm sure."

"I mean… I feel guilty if I don't give someone I know anything, even if they tell me they don't want a present," she explained. Link laughed and ran his hand up and down her back.

"It's okay, Zelda. Really, it is, so don't worry about it. A simple 'merry Christmas' greeting is more than enough to make me smile."

She nodded slowly, and he spoke again. "But if you really are that determined to give me something, then surprise me; anything will do… Anything along the lines of a gift card to Jamba Juice, Starbucks, or an electronics store, preferably Best Buy."

Zelda laughed at his comment. "That's what I thought… Trying to sound all righteous. I knew it was too good to be true."

"Hey!" He defended. "Even if you didn't get me a gift card, I'd still be happy."

Despite that he already got Zelda a present, Link decided to ask her what she wanted.

"What do _you_ want, little miss missy?"

She giggled and paused for a second.

"I… don't know. What you said really made me think." He raised an eyebrow at her. "How so?"

"I mean… People these days seem to get really greedy and selfish, especially around the holidays, you know? Isn't the concept of giving presents to _give_, and not turn it into a contest of who can get the most presents? I hate to say it, but I'm one of those people. I always seem to find myself always wanting, wanting, wanting. I always think about what I want, instead of what I'm going to give others. Sometimes I even plan out what I'm going to ask for literally _months_ in advance of Christmas and my birthday, and looking back on it, it makes me feel dirty… Long story short: I don't really want anything either. If you want to, surprise me, why don't you?"

Link smiled warmly at her speech, and he couldn't help but notice that every single word of it made complete and absolute sense. "Zelda Harkinian… I think we just discovered the meaning of Christmas," he joked.

"Oh really?" She asked simpering. "Which is?"

"That it truly _is_ better to give than to receive."

They laughed softly at their little inside joke, and Link spoke up. "So you're absolutely sure you don't want anything?"

"Just as sure as you are," she replied. "I'm happy, and happiness is enough. Although the idea of unwrapping that bag is very inviting, but you really don't have to drop that much money on me."

The blonde man smirked to himself at her last sentence.

'_To late for that, Zel.'_

…

Link was watching the weather and traffic report on the news, while Zelda was in the bathroom, cleaning herself up after just getting out of the shower.

"As you can see, scattered snow powders continue to hit the Hyrule Castle Town region, with some areas now in feet deep snow. Flights entering and leaving Rinku International Airport are slowly but surely resuming normal operation, with Hyrule International Airport assisting Rinku's air traffic. The summit of Death Mountain is experiencing harsh blizzards, canceling many flights departing and bound for Goron Municipal Airport, and delaying trains bound for Biggoron Station in Goron City. Kakariko village is having unusual cold waves due to the blizzards from Death Mountain, and the mayor has issued a snowstorm warning, which is expected to hit the city a few days before Christmas next Monday. Until then, slight rain showers have been scattered across the city. Zora's Domain is doing nicely, although it is very cold due to the water in Zora's River and Fountain slowly freezing over. Sunshine is expected to appear by tomorrow, however, which should melt the water before it reaches Lake Hylia. Gerudo Valley is escaping the deep cold, as usual. Fairly warm out there for the Gerudo at eighty-two degrees, with temperatures dropping to the low thirties sometime around six this evening. Flight operations at Twinrova Regional Airport are normal, with delays to Hyrule and Sheikah International Airports, and all flights to Goron City have been cancelled until further notice. Hyrule Field is very nice today with cool breezes and sunshine throughout the week, with temperatures dropping as you reach Hyrule Castle Town and Kakariko Village, and rising around the areas of Lake Hylia, Gerudo Valley, and the Lost Woods, as if you plan to enter the woods, right? Heh-heh... Lake Hylia is very nice around this time. A warm front is coming from Termina's Great Bay and the outer Great Sea, eventually making its way toward Hylia Village and the lake itself; no surprises there. Just be aware that if Zora's River does not warm up soon, expect the waters of Lake Hylia to become rather chilly, although it's not enough to freeze it over, or drop the water temperature to very cold levels; the most that would happen is that the lake will get somewhat colder than usual."

Link chuckled out loud. It was just yesterday that it was fairly warm in Castle Town, even if it was December, and all of a sudden there's this snow flurry that falls over the city so bad to the point that the airports delayed and cancelled its flights.

Zelda came out of the bathroom with a towel around her body and a blow dryer in hand, aiming it at her hair. "How's the city?"

"Pretty damn cold," he replied. "It's forty-three degrees, according to them." He pointed the remote in his hand to the television.

The girl slightly flinched at the idea of walking out in the near-freezing temperature in the flimsy short and miniskirt she brought, which she pulled out of her backpack. She took the clothing and started for the bathroom. He noticed her from the corner of his eye and sighed loudly in a rather obnoxious manner.

"Girls… Still fickle, as always," he remarked, referring to the fact that she _still_ wouldn't let him watch her change.

"Shut up, Link!" She shouted min-laughter before closing the door and locking it.

"Now for the traffic," the anchorwoman on the television stated. "There have been a few car accidents on the interstate 48 northbound for Hyrule Castle Town, causing more delays on the freeways. Eastbound 163 from the Lon Lon Ranch area to Kakariko Village is very smooth; just make sure to drive cautiously as the roads near the city are slippery from rainfall. From Hylia Village northbound interstate 8 to Hyrule Castle Town…"

This what Link had been waiting for. He turned up the volume slightly before the reporter continued.

"Moving along nicely for the first half of the freeway, but the junction of the 69 from Termina is causing major gridlocks along the way, and this should clear up by tomorrow at least. I highly suggest you take the subway from Hylia Station to Hyrule Castle Station to avoid the traffic jam, as the Blue Line is rather vacant for the most part. I'm Medli Valoo for your Channel Ten Weather Watch and Time Saver Traffic Report."

Link sighed and turned the television off. The freeway to Hyrule Castle Town was still backed up, and as much as he'd like to take the subway back, he would have to leave his car behind. It meant that he and Zelda would have to stay in Hylia Village until tomorrow- at _least­­_. The reporter gave no definitive time when traffic or if would clear up; all she did was predict when the freeway would return to normal, and given the current situation on the highway, he personally thought her prediction wasn't even close.

Still, he wasn't complaining at all; it gave him that much more time to be with Zelda.

…

"Yeah, mom… We won't be able to drive back at least until tomorrow or so."

Zelda was talking to her mom on her cell phone, updating her parents on why she didn't come home the other day. They seemed to have understood, and they still made no fuss over her sleeping in the same room with a guy.

"No, mom! He wouldn't do something like…" The blonde cried out into the speaker.

Link watched her talk from the desk, smiling at her short outbursts.

"Eww, mom! He'd never do _that_! No, he's been really nice to me… Is he paying for our stay?" She turned to Link, who raised en eyebrow at her. "Why? …Because a true gentleman would… Oh, come on, mom! Haven't you ever heard of going Dutch!? I feel really bad making him… Oh, for crying in a…"

She turned to the man sitting on top of the desk, covering the phone's speaker with her hand. "Link, are you gonna…"

Before she could finish, Link waved her off, shaking his head with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it. Tell her I'll be happy to pay for it. After all, I wanna be a "true gentleman," right?"

"Yes, mom, he said he'll be happy to… Okay, bye mom. I love you."

And with that, the girl flipped down the screen and tossed the phone carelessly on top of the bed.

Zelda walked over to Link, who was still sitting on top of the desk, and she folded her hands with hers, pressing her lips to his.

"Your mother seems to be very old fashioned," he said through the kiss, muffling his voice somewhat.

She pulled away and rolled her eyes. "She's crazy. She views courtship in a rather traditional light."

"Well aren't _all_ moms like that?" The young man joked.

"Heh… I guess, but I don't know. She's always pictured me getting married in a lavish white spring wedding fit for the Princess of Hyrule herself."

Link laughed softly and wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, and she continued on. "But she's really cool. She's a lot more lenient with who I go out with, as long as they treat me right. At least she's nothing like my father in terms of my boyfriends."

"Oh?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

She nodded. "The first thing he asks is, 'what does he look like?'" She imitated her dad's deep, booming voice. "'How ugly is he?' 'What do his grades look like?' What does he plan to do after he finishes school?'" She scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes. "He asks all these questions about his future, and we haven't even left the house yet! Honestly…"

He snickered and kissed the nape of Zelda's neck. He could tell that her dad was very overprotective, but then again, he sounded no different from the countless other father's he's had to deal with. They asked the exact same questions, and because they were so predictable and asked in the same exact order, Link countered them with ease.

"Well…" Link started, hopping off the desk. "I think we should go out and find someplace to eat."

"Finally!" The girl cried out. "I thought you'd never say."

Link picked up his car keys and slipped his bare feet into his shoes. "We need to buy some warm clothes if we're going back to the city tomorrow too. We'd freeze to death half naked." He pointed to his tank top, the only garment he brought to cover his torso, and her small shirt and skirt.

Zelda smiled and nodded. "Right."

12:30 PM: MCDONALD'S

"I'm going to use the restroom, okay?"

Link looked at Zelda, who was pointing to the door for the ladies' room.

"Alright," he replied, nodding.

"You remember what I want, right?" She asked.

He gave her a thumbs up. "McChicken and medium fries."

She flashed a smile and headed for the restroom.

As he waited, he folded his arms across his chest and exhaled softly, furrowing his brows and looking up at the overhead menu, pretending to look preoccupied, and ignoring the ogling stares he got from the many young ladies, some of which were even workers; one girl flipped a burger patty in the air, but because of her staring at Link, did not catch it, and it landed in her hair, causing her to shriek in surprise.

Link honestly didn't know why so many girls have him their full, undivided and most of the time superfluous attention. He considered himself attractive, but not in an obnoxious "I'm so much of a sex god that I can get any girl I want" way. Personally, he could name ten physical traits off the top of his head that he wanted either changed or rid of altogether. He's seen guys way better looking than he was; he didn't know why the girls didn't go after _them_ and settled for _him_ instead. He worked out, and kept himself in the highest physical condition he could possibly attain, but it wasn't for superficial purposes, such as trying to impress the ladies; it was just for the hell of it. When he gets bored, he exercises. When all of his amusement outlets run out of power, he heads for the gym. He's heard the saying that what you do while bored will come back and bite you in the ass, and it was times like this that makes him wish that he wasn't so god damn attractive.

He felt a pair of greenish-brownish eyes staring at him from his left side. He moved his eyes off of the menu to see who was looking at her, but didn't move his head. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that it was a girl, but then again, what else was new in his life?

He couldn't help but notice that she resembled Zelda very closely, save for the chestnut brown hair and the green-brown eyes. The girl had a blood red hibiscus flower tucked behind her right ear, which meant that she was single. She was wearing a white sleeveless shirt with "D&G" embroidered in the area covering her cleavage in bold black lettering, and light blue jean biker shorts with frayed seams.

He turned his head to face her, who was smiling at him innocently.

"Hello," he said, smiling faintly at her.

"Hi there," the girl replied. "I'm Marin."

The young man nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm Link."

"Link, huh?" She took his left arm and wrapped herself around it clingingly, an action which he felt immediate discomfort with. "I'm from Koholint Island, and this is my first time in Hyrule… and you seem to be a local, so how's about you show me around?"

"Koholint Island, eh?" Link raised an eyebrow, and she nodded. "Sure am. The old down under."

Koholint Island is a small country to the southwest of Hyrule, far out into the Great Sea. It's home to about five million people, and is a very popular tourist destination, attracting over ten million people a year. It is famous the world over for its comfortable temperate climate year-round, the warm islander spirit of the citizens, and lush, tropical flora and fauna.

"So would you mind showing me around?" She asked again.

"Well, um… actually…" Link cleared his throat nervously. "I'm kind of unfamiliar with this village myself. I'm from the Hyrule Castle Town area, and I really don't come down here very often."

"Oh…." Marin tucked a few strands of hair away from getting in her sight. "We can explore the town together! As you can see, I'm single at the moment…" She pointed to the flower in her hair. "You know the tradition, right?"

"Yes, I do," the blonde replied. "If a girl's single, they put a hibiscus flower behind their right ear. If they're taken, they put it in the left. It's an ancient Koholint custom."

Marin's eyes widened at his knowledge. "How'd you know that?"

"I studied the history and culture of Koholint Island for one of the teaching courses I took."

"Ahhh, you're a teacher…" She nodded slowly, running her hand across his taut chest, feeling the ribbed texture of his white tank top. "I find that definitely attractive. Good looks, a big brain, golden blonde hair…" She reached up and wrapped one of his blond bangs around her index finger flirtatiously. "Would you like to go out sometime? You can come back to Koholint Island with me; I can show you a real fun time down under, _if you know what I mean_…" She winked suggestively and gestured to the area between his legs.

Link thought at first that she was a rather nice girl, but after her very lewd proposal, lost all respect for her.

"Well, actually, Marin…" The blonde literally pried the brunette's hands off his naked arm. "I'm taken right now. My girlfriend is in the bathroom. Prettiest little thing, she is."

The brunette's eyes widened in shock, and a sudden angered glare appeared on her face. "Then stop flirting with me, you pervert!"

The blonde almost broke into a fit of laughter at the girl's attempt to gain back some of her dignity by accusing _him_ of the one that was flirting.

"Honestly!" Marin began to stomp away furiously. "How _low_ can some guys get!? You have a girlfriend, and then you come on to me like that!? UGH!"

She fumed out the open door and down the boardwalk, plodding away, trying to hide her shame.

Link abruptly fell into laughing, until it died down when he reached the counter. He cleared his throat and wiped a few tears away from his eyes before talking to the man behind the register.

"Can I get a Big N' Tasty and one large fries… One McChicken and a medium fries… And a large soda?"

"Is that for here or to go, sir?" The cashier asked.

"For here."

…

"She _what_!?"

It was around two o'clock, and Link and Zelda had finished their meals, and Link was telling the girl about what happened between him and Marin.

"She's like, "I can show you a good time down under, if you know I mean." Then, after I say that I was seeing someone, she goes, "then stop flirting with me, you pervert!!" It was really kind of sad on her part."

Zelda giggled furiously, taking a sip of their Sprite. "She's desperate."

"I know, right!?" Link replied, eating the sesame seeds that fell off of his bun.

"Something like that happened to me when I was fourteen," Zelda spoke.

"Oh?" Link raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Well, I was at the bowling alley in the navy base once with my cousin because he's in the navy, who was eighteen at the time, I think. Anyway, he sent me to get a soda from the food court, right? So, I'm waiting in line, and then this sailor guy comes up to me and he's like, "is that guy there your boyfriend or something?""

Link made a twisted face in amusement. "What the hell?"

"I know!" The female blonde exclaimed. "And I'm like, "no." So he says, "Oh, well I just wanted to give you props for looking so damn good."

The young man laughed hysterically, slapping his forehead. "Oh my goddesses, what a total jackass."

"It was so depressing! I almost cried. So I told my cousin about it when I came back, and then the sailor dude comes back he and tells my cousin, "yo, man. I just wanted to tell you that your cousin is pretty hot. Hook her up with me sometime." So after he left, my cousin whispered to me, "Where's a fucking knife when you need one?" I said, "why'd you have to send me to the freakin' food court!?""

"That's terrible!" Link smiled and took a drink from the soda.

"I've never felt so violated in my life!" Zelda buried her face in her hands and shook her head.

"Was he drunk or something?"

"I hope he was!" She uncovered her face to look at Link. "Goddesses, I hope he was sober. It would be really sad if he weren't"

3:06 PM: HYLIA VILLAGE BOARDWALK

Zelda strolled down the seaside scenic path alone with a shopping bag filled with a grey sweatshirt and jeans she bought from PacSun watching the water of the lake washing over the rocks on the side of the walkway. Across the way, the beach was filled with people as usual, with many bathers splashing in the water. Sailboats and jet skis roamed freely across the crystal waters, and couples and kite flyers were seen on the island above the entrance to the Water Temple.

Link was looking through clothes back at PacSun, and Zelda said that she would walk around and explore the boardwalk, agreeing to meet up in front of the McDonalds they ate at earlier at three-thirty.

'_I wonder what I should get him for Christmas… I know he didn't really want anything, but I might as well get him something, since he's probably off doing the same for me… Buying presents for men always seems harder than when you're buying for a girl…'_

She found herself in front of a crowded Jamba Juice store, and thought about what he said earlier.

"_Anything along the lines of a gift card to Jamba Juice, Starbucks, or an electronics store, preferably Best Buy."_

She furrowed her eyebrows together in wonder.

'_Should I get a card from here, Starbucks or Best Buy?'_

The thought about it for a while, and an idea popped into her mind, speaking aloud.

"I'll get all three!"

She reached for her wallet, and pulled out ten rupees, walking into the store.

6:47 PM: LINK AND ZELDA'S HOTEL ROOM

"I'm _old_!"

Zelda looked up from the television screen and cocked an eyebrow at Link's sudden outburst, who was lying on the bed, sprawled out across the mattress.

"What?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm old, Zelda." He ran a hand through his hair. Zelda got up from her chair, tightening the sash on her bathrobe covering her naked body and jumped on top of Link, causing him to grunt as the bed shook and she sat on top of his stomach.

"You are _not_ old, Link! You're only, what, twenty-five, twenty-six…"

"I'm twenty-seven and a half," he mumbled.

"You call that "_old"_!?" Zelda scoffed loudly. "Do you call your parents _fossils_ then?"

"I didn't mean "old" like that. I mean… I'm knocking on thirty, and I'm not even married yet! Most guys my age already have _children_, and here I am, wifeless."

The girl on top of him laughed and kissed him on his lips. "So?"

"My mom was twenty-one when she married my father, and she had me when she was twenty-three," the man said.

"How old was your dad when your mom gave birth?"

"…Twenty-five, I think."

"See, Link!? That's around your age. You have nothing to worry about!"

"I was _born_ when he was around my age, and here I am around the same time, and I'm not married yet!"

"Why are you concerned over it, anyway?" She raised an eyebrow. "Middle-age crisis _already_?"

Link shook his head, lifting his body as Zelda slipped his tank top off his body. "It's not that. I mean… I don't know. I'm just saying is all… I'm old."

Zelda stared at him with one eyebrow up, and smirked, concocting an idea in her mind.

"Then how about we do something to make you feel younger?" She suggested slyly. She bent down and traced circles around his navel with her tongue, causing Link to groan, and she trailed her tongue up his torso, neck, and chin, eventually ending at his lips, kissing them softly.

A faint smile crept upon his lips. "What do you have in mind?" He asked in a low, sensual growl, already having an idea of what she was thinking.

"…You tell me," she purred.

And with that, she undid the sash of her robe, slipping the garment off her now naked body.

* * *

AUTOBIOGRAPHY ALERT: The conversation between Link and Zelda about presents is taken from an essay I wrote in English class about what we wanted for Christmas. The mishap between Zelda and the sailor actually happened to my friend, who shall remain nameless for her security's sake. All the dialogue during that part of the chapter is a word-for-word account from when she told me about it. The ages when Link's parents were married and gave birth to my older brother- who is also the first born- are parallels of my parents' ages when they married and gave birth to him. 

This chapter is my Christmas present to you guys. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or simply, Happy Holidays. Be safe, have fun opening your presents, and always remember it's always better to give than to receive.

You know what you can give me for Christmas? A review. :)

Review, please.

* * *

End time: December 24, 2006; 2:20 PM, PST

* * *


	13. Genius

* * *

Start time: December 26, 2006; 12:41 PM, PST

* * *

So how was everyone's Christmas? I personally have had better, but yesterday was very nice to say the least. 

So, time to turn the drama back up. The first half of the chapter is rather happy because it takes place on Christmas day, and the last half is when they come back to school, and as a little teaser, Link finds a very risky way to make the whole "I have to find a way to make this relationship with Zelda work" ordeal. That should keep you glued to this chapter. So anyway, here's chapter thirteen.

NOTE: To help you understand the way Aryll speaks, try speaking what she says in with a Japanese inflection.

* * *

"I'll get it!" 

Zelda, who was clad in a white wool sweatshirt, a red scarf wrapped around her neck, a denim miniskirt, and white leg warmers got up from the sofa, making her way towards the front door.

It was Christmas evening, and Zelda's aunts and uncles from her mother's side of the family had come to their house for dinner, and while the adults congregated around the dining table, conversing about whatever it was that they normally talked about during family gatherings and laughing heartily at jokes, Zelda and her cousins, who were in their early to mid-twenties, were in the living room, watching television and talking about pop culture, their school life- topics you'd expect a group of people from the younger generation to talk about.

Zelda unlocked the door and turned the knob open, to reveal Link standing in front of him with a wide smile on his face, wearing a beige suede jacket, a pair of blue carpenter jeans, and his light brown Timberlands, and adorning his head was a red floppy cap on his head that would normally be mistaken for a Santa hat if it weren't for the absence of the white furry ball on the end and the white fuzz lining around the seams. He was holding in his hand a medium sized rectangular box wrapped neatly in red and gold gift wrap.

"Link!" She exclaimed loudly, drawing the others' attention to the two as she practically mauled him so hard he almost dropped the present on the ground. He laughed softly and wrapped her in a warm hug.

"Merry Christmas," he spoke as she let go of him, brushing strands of hair out of her eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Link. Come in, yeah?" The girl took his free hand and led him in. "Thanks, Zel, but I'm not going to be staying long. I have a dinner with family and friends at my house."

"Oh? What brings you here?" She asked as she closed the door behind him.

"I'm here to give you your present, of course!" He replied in a sassy tone, taking his shoes off.

The two laughed and Zelda spoke up again. "Oh, how rude of me!" She turned to everyone and asked for their attention. "Guys, this is my good friend Link."

Zelda took his hand and led him to each of her family members, personally introducing him to each of them, leaving her father last for rather obvious reasons.

"Hello there, my boy," her father spoke. "Link, is it?"

"Yes sir," Link spoke.

"You're the young man who took Zelda to Lake Hylia, yes? How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven, sir."

The man raised an eyebrow at Link's answer. "Twenty-seven? You're romantically linked with my sixteen year old daughter at that age!? Preposterous!"

Zelda was about to speak in Link's defense, but he cut her off. "Sir, you're daughter is very beautiful, but I have no romantic interest in her." He quickly turned to her, and winked surreptitiously. "I have a girlfriend my own age."

"Then why did you take my daughter out to the lake, and not your girlfriend?" Her dad asked, suspicious of the young man before him.

"We didn't go alone, sir. My friends accompanied us, and a few of Zelda's friends came as well. When we stayed at the hotel, the boys and I stayed in a room separate from the girls," he lied. "There was so alcohol and there certainly was no sex."

Zelda was amazed at how ready Link's answers came out. Even though everything he had said was all but the truth, it was rather convincing.

"I see," her father spoke slowly. "You're twenty-seven, yes? What were your grades, what college did you go to, and do you do for a living?"

"Daddy!" Zelda cried out exasperatedly. "Honestly!"

Link knew that her father was trying to shake him up by asking questions about his personal life in rapid-fire, but because Link saw them coming, thanks to Zelda's forewarning at the hotel and dealing with fathers the likes of him before, he held his ground and shot back his answer just as fast as the questions were asked without stuttering once. "I graduated valedictorian at Hyrule High with a 4.17 GPA, I attended Hyrule University and majored in world history, graduated salutatorian with a 4.25, and I teach high school history classes at Hyrule High. Zelda is actually one of my students."

Everyone in the room was taken aback by his rather impressive academic history, and Zelda stood next to him, proud of him greatly.

Zelda's dad paused for a moment before a wide grin appeared on his face. "Well why the hell didn't you say so before! Take a seat, son!"

Link and Zelda laughed at him as her dad practically pushed him into a chair, setting a glass before him, and filling it to the rim with Bacardi.

"I knew from the moment I saw you that Saturday in your car that you had to be quite the genius," he gushed, downing his glass of beer in one gulp. Link smiled as the adults at the table continued to ask him questions, occasionally taking small sips of his overflowing glass of alcohol.

"Would you like anything to eat, Link? We have plenty!" Zelda's mom asked, offering a paper plate, and the blonde politely accepted, filling his plate halfway with food, not wanting to fill himself when he had another dinner with family to go to.

"Link, my boy, you've barely touched your drink!" Zelda's dad cried out, pointing to the boy's glass which still looked the way it was when he filled it.

"Actually sir, I really don't drink alcohol. Even if I did, I wouldn't drink much because I still have to drive."

Her dad laughed heartily and patted Link on the back with so much strength that his face almost hit his food, causing the women to yelp.

After Link finished most of his food, he threw the plate away, excusing himself from the table and made his way over to the living room with Zelda and her cousins, sitting next to her.

"That was impressive," Zelda said to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "What was impressive?"

The blonde girl took his hat off his head and placed it on her own. "How you convinced my dad like that. Not very many guys are able to do that."

"Huh… I guess I should be proud, then," he replied, looking back to the television.

"I guess," she finished.

A few minutes later, a little girl who was sitting on the loveseat with a man and a woman perpendicular to Link and Zelda approached them.

"Who's this?" Link asked.

"Our daughter," one of Zelda's cousins, Blossom, answered, gesturing to a man next to him, who looked around Link's age.

"Her name's Aryll," the man, Bipin, replied. "She's three."

Aryll looked at Link curiously, and climbed onto the sofa, sitting between him and Zelda.

"Hi, Aryll," Link spoke. She waved in reply. "Herro."

"She has a slight speech impediment," Bipin explained. "Her r's come out like l's. The doctor said she should grow out of it by the time she's around five."

"I see," the blonde man said. He turned back to Aryll. "I'm Link."

"Rinku…" She said slowly, and Link chuckled. "Close enough."

"Aryll," Zelda said, and the little girl turned to her. "What's my name?"

"Auntie Zeruda!" Aryll replied happy.

"Who's that?" Zelda pointed to her mom, who was talking to the other adults in Hylian.

"Grandma Ambi!"

"Good job!" Zelda gave her a high five, and she pointed to Link. "Who's this?"

Aryll turned to Link, who was smiling at her. "…I don't know!"

Zelda gasped at him and broke into a fit of laughter at his expense, and he cocked an eyebrow up at Aryll, who was giggling.

"What do you mean you don't know!?" Link asked in mock-disbelief, trying to hold back his laughs. "I just told you!"

"I don't know!" Aryll squealed again.

The young man pretended to look offended and turned around, sticking his nose in the air. "Aryll, for now on, we are strangers!"

Aryll laughed and crawled on top of Link, who looked away every time she attempted to look him in the eye. He opened an eyelid and looked at her, who was smiling happily at him. A small smile slowly crept upon the man's lips and he abruptly began tickling her without warning. Aryll screeched in laughter and he set her on the sofa so that she was lying down and tickled her harder, causing her to laugh louder. He leaned in and blew into her neck, making a loud farting sound, to which Aryll's high pitched squeals escalated to the point that probably only dogs and dolphins could hear it.

"Hey Link," Blossom spoke. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Has anyone ever told you you'd make a great dad?"

He chuckled and glanced at Zelda. "I've heard that before."

Link slowly stopped tickling Aryll and looked back down at her. "I'm Link, okay?"

Aryll nodded and repeated his name, albeit slightly slurred. "Rinku!"

"Who am I?" He asked.

"Rinku!"

He pointed behind him to Zelda. "Who's that?"

"Auntie Zeruda!"

He continued the pattern between him and Zelda three more times, and instead of pointing back to Zelda after she said his name, he gestured to himself.

"Who am I?"

"Auntie Zeruda!" Aryll cried out on impulse, due to that she got used to the alternation between him and Zelda.

Link's mouth gaped in shock, and Bipin, Blossom, and Zelda laughed at him.

"What!?" Link exclaimed, drawing out more giggles from the little girl under him.

…

"Oh, I wonder what it could be!?"

Zelda took the red and bold present from Link and she shook it a few times.

"Just open it!" Link told her, with Aryll in his lap and everyone else huddled around them, wanting to see what he got her.

She was about to tear open the wrapping paper, when Link stopped her.

"Read the card first!" He exclaimed, moving Aryll of his lap.

The girl laughed and pulled out a white envelope tucked underneath the ribbon with "To Zelda" written on it in his signature neat handwriting. She opened the flap and pulled a card out and opened it, reading aloud what he wrote.

"'Remember how you said I didn't need to drop a whole lot of money on you for a present? Well, you'd better accept this, or else you owe me twelve hundred-fifty rupees.'" Zelda stopped for a second and closed the card, an idea of what was inside the box forming in her mind.

"…What's in here, Link?" She asked curiously, pointing to the box.

He shrugged, feigning ignorance. "I don't know."

Zelda tore open the wrapping paper, revealing a blank white box, with "HAND me a BAG" labeled across the box in a black, Century Gothic font face; the same name of the store where she found the Chanel handbag.

"Are you serious?" She spoke in disbelief, uncovering the box and digging through the crepe paper. She pulled them back, revealing a white medium-sized Chanel handbag with the overlapping "C" logo embroidered on the lower left side in black.

She gasped in delight, and pulling out the bag from the box, feeling the suppleness of the fabric.

"Merry Christmas," Link spoke, smiling widely.

Unable to contain her happiness, she practically mauled him for the second time, hopping on top of him and catching him in a bear hug.

The young man laughed and whispered in her ear so quietly only she could hear him. "Don't kiss me in front of your father or anything, okay? I have a girlfriend, remember?"

She nodded and whispered back to him, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The girl slowly got off of him, reaching for her old bag on the sofa. "Now I can finally retire Ol' Reliable," she said, causing small laughs from everyone as she emptied it out and placed them inside the Chanel one.

"That was nearly thirteen hundred rupees?" Blossom asked, and Link nodded in reply.

"I was out shopping with Zelda, and I found her looking at it from the window," he explained. "I knew it would make her happy, so I just went out and bought it."

"You really are a gentleman, my boy," her father told him, patting him on the back again, almost knocking him forward. "I can only imagine what you got your girlfriend."

"Hmm?" Link raised an eyebrow, and nodded quickly. "Oh yes, my girlfriend. I got her a bag as well. I almost bought a ring, but whatever."

"A ring?" Zelda smiled. "I think she'd like a ring more than the bag."

He cocked up an eyebrow at her. "Well if that were the case, she owes the twelve hundred fifty rupees, doesn't she?"

They chuckled at their inside joke, and she held the bag over her shoulder, posing in front of the wall mirror. "How does it look?"

Everyone began complimenting her, and she smiled and thanked them all, setting the purse on the sofa. "Well, Link. I have a present for you as well."

"Do you really?" He shut his eyes tightly and held his hands out. "I'm waiting."

Zelda laughed and reached for a small box sitting on the Christmas tree and placed it on his open hands.

Link opened his eyes and unwrapped the paper around it to reveal… a band-aid box.

"Oh my goddesses," he spoke bluntly. "Band-aids."

'_There _has _to be more than this…'_ He shook the box, and inside was the sound of band-aids moving around. _'Guess not…'_

"Isn't it exciting!?" Zelda cried out, and many of the people around them tried to fight back their oncoming mirth.

"It is," he replied. "I can… fix busted pipes with these… I could cover wounds… I could…" He tried to think of another activity he could do with band-aids, but came up short. "…Cover wounds."

Everyone except Link laughed, and Zelda tied back her hair. "Go on and open it Link."

Link sighed and opened the box, and inside weren't band-aids but gift certificates to Jamba Juice, Starbucks, and Best Buy. He laughed and took them out before playfully hurling the empty box at Zelda. "Playing tricks on me, eh?"

She giggled and nodded softly. "Merry Christmas, Link."

"When did you get these?" He asked, taking out his wallet and putting the cards inside.

"After we ate in Hylia Village on Sunday," she replied. "The Starbucks and Jamba Juice ones are worth ten rupees, and the Best Buy is seventy-five."

"Aww, Zel," he smiled at her. "You didn't have to spend that much."

"The same can be said about the bag."

"Touché," he and Zelda said simultaneously, with her mimicking his husky voice. "Jeez, Link, you're so predictable."

…

"Thank you so much for coming over Link."

Zelda closed the door behind them so that they were alone outside in the cool winter air.

"No problem. Thanks again for the cards," he said.

"And thank you for the bag. I can't begin to properly thank you for that." She encircled her arms around his neck and pulled him close.

"I was happy to do it," he replied, snaking his hands around her waist, closing the gap between them.

"Were you really going to buy me a ring?" She asked, resting her chin on her shoulder.

"Yes, ma'am," he responded in a country-western accent, "but after I saw how deeply you wanted that bag, I thought that would be a better present… Maybe for your birthday, I'll get you a giant rock for your finger. Who knows?"

She laughed and captured him in a soft kiss. After a few minutes, he pulled away reluctantly and rested his forehead on hers, smiling down at her. "I'll see you," he finally spoke.

The girl grudgingly let go of him, immediately feeling cold without his body heat. "Right," she spoke slowly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Merry Christmas, Zelda." He kissed her one last time, and began to walk backwards.

She smiled at him and unfolded an arm, using it to wave goodbye. "Merry Christmas, Link."

He ran a hand through his hair and turned around, walking away.

"…Wait!"

Link abruptly whirled around to face Zelda confusedly. "What?"

Zelda opened the door and ran back into the house, and came back out with his red floppy hat. "You almost forgot it."

He shook his head and his hand. "You can have it."

"…Are you sure? I feel bad keeping your clothes. Your shirt… this hat…"

"It's okay," he assured. "I have a million of those hats at home. Wear it when you sleep, why don't you? It keeps your head warm; trust me."

She laughed and placed it on her head. "Thanks."

"No worries. It matches with the shirt, since the shirt has red marks on it," he commented, referring to the blood stains Zelda left on it. "Did you wash it?"

The girl shook her head slowly. "If I did that, it would lose your scent," she said, causing him to chuckle. "This hat smells like you hair," she added, taking it off and holding it to her nose, inhaling the sweet aroma. "If I wear them together long enough, I'll smell like you."

He laughed and shrugged. "Just be careful; your dad might get suspicious if you walk around smelling like me."

She nodded and winked. "Gotcha."

Link nodded and blew a kiss at her before walking away.

…

It was a week after Christmas, and school had started the day after New Year's Day, much to more than half of the student body's disappointment.

It was fifteen minutes before first period started, and Link was in his empty classroom, sitting at his chair, his arms folded on the desk with his face buried inside.

'_Three weeks… and still no solution,'_ he thought.

Rauru's hassling and teasing has gotten more and more frequent and annoying, and the school day hasn't even officially started yet! Link came to school at around six 'o clock- thirty minutes earlier than usual- because he had some of his lesson plans he needed to complete before school started, and every time he'd walk around the administrative building where the attendance office, the main office, the nurse's office and Rauru's office, there he was, leering at him. Every time Link would turn, Rauru was there over his shoulder, sneering right in his face. It was getting increasingly aggravating, especially since most of the work could only be completed around the administrative building.

Around six forty-five, Link unexpectedly saw Zelda sitting alone in the quad reading a book, which he found surprising because he anticipated yet another late arrival to school from her, especially since this was the first day of school back from break. He figured that since she looked quite bored, he asked her to run errands for him around the administrative building while he remained inside the classroom filing papers; an attempt to finish the work he needed to get done while avoiding Rauru at all costs, no less.

Zelda was currently out getting a folder filled with fliers about school happenings that the office called for him to get, and not wanting to see Rauru, he had her get them for him.

'_How the hell am I supposed to make this relationship work!? It all seems so… hopeless.'_

The young man felt stinging tears form in his eyes due to his overwhelming frustration, but he heard the door open, and quickly wiped them away with his sleeve. He looked up and saw Zelda closing the door, walking over to him and placing the giant folder on his desk.

"No cuts, see?" She smiled and held up her hands to show them to him, and sure enough, there wasn't a single cut. "I was super careful this time around."

Link laughed softly and opened the folder, taking out one of the hundreds of papers and reading it in his head.

"What does it say?" The girl asked, pulling up a seat next to him.

"It's about the JSAPTs," he replied, not taking his eyes off the paper.

"What's that?"

"The Junior-Senior Advanced Promotion Test," the male blonde explained, "it's an optional online test that's given to all Juniors that tests them in Senior-level AP, honors, and advanced history, English, mathematics, and science subjects, and if they score high enough, they are automatically promoted to the twelfth grade."

"Wow," was all she said. "That's cool."

"Yeah… It's a very difficult exam, though; in the twenty years since its inception, about ten thousand Juniors take it annually, and probably only a thousand pass barely pass it, just straddling the eligibility score. They've never had a single student get a perfect score."

Zelda's eyes widened and took a paper from the pile and read it. "Did you take it?"

"Yeah…" He responded, his nonchalant expression turning into a scowl. "I was one damn question short of passing. I was so freakin' pissed off…"

"Aww, that sucks," she responded. "You were close enough; they should have just passed you!"

"I know!" He cried out. "It was depressing…" He turned to her, his mood lightening slightly at the sight of her. "You should take this test."

"What!?" She exclaimed disbelievingly. "You were your class valedictorian, and still you didn't pass- no offense of course. I don't think I have a snowball's chance of passing if you couldn't…"

"But my GPA in eleventh grade was a 3.9, Zel; yours is well over 4.0. You're one of the smartest people I've ever known, and you probably know more than the people that _did_ pass this test. Zelda, I'm not going to hold a gun to your head and force you to take it, but it would really make me happy if you at least tried." When he finished, she looked down, and some of her hair fell so that it covered her face. "Whether you pass or don't, or even choose not to take it altogether, I'd still love you," he added softly.

"Also, I was just one question shy," he said. "If I came that close, maybe you can do better."

The teenage girl looked up at him, and in his eyes she saw that he was being truly sincere about what he just said. "…When is this test?"

His eyes widened, her tone of voice saying that she was going to do it. He smiled joyfully and pointed to a date on her paper. "Next Sunday at three PM."

'_That should be enough time to study,_ she mused. "Okay then," she spoke, "I'll take the test."

The man embraced her softly and kissed her on the cheek. "Atta girl…" He pulled away, and looked her in the eye. "Don't do it in order to fulfill my wishes, though. You should take the test because _you_ want to, not because I laid some guilt trip on you."

Zelda chuckled and shook her head. "No, I'm doing this for me. I know the odds of passing are slim, but it would be personally rewarding if I just tried."

"Good girl," he spoke, patting her on the leg.

"But who knows? I might pass if I believe, right?" She winked at him. ""One person genuinely believing is all it takes for a wish to come true, no matter how far fetched it may be." You said those words yourself."

Link laughed and shrugged. "Yes, I guess I did. Let's both hope. If one person alone can make a dream come true, imagine what two people can make happen?"

They both laughed and Zelda's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! The lady at the main office told me to give this to you." She dug into her pocket and pulled out an envelope.

He took it, quietly thanking her, and opened it, pulling out a folded paper. He began reading it, and looked back up to the girl in front of him. "I'm one of the two hundred teachers chosen to supervise the test."

"Oh really?" She raised an eyebrow. "How exciting."

"…Not so much," he replied apathetically. "I've done it before; total bore fest if you ask me. Three hours of walking around a dead quiet room, watching over kids as they take a test… not exactly my idea of a fun Sunday afternoon."

She giggled and he continued on. "Oh well. I'll still be with you, and the teachers get free donuts and coffee as compensation!" He added, smiling at the last part.

As if on cue, the bell rang. As Zelda got up from her seat and pushed it back in, Link spoke. "Give that paper to you parents and have them sign the permission slip at the bottom, okay? Give me it tomorrow, and I'll turn it in."

"Right," she nodded. "It also said you need ten rupees to take the test. Do I just give you the money with the slip or…"

"Yeah, that's perfect," Link replied as students shuffled into the classroom, taking their seats.

THE SUNDAY OF THE TEST, RIGHT AFTER THE EXAM

"Damn, that test was hard!"

Link chuckled at Zelda as they walked down the long flight of stone steps in front of the Hyrule Castle Town Metropolitan Public Library where the JSAPTs are held annually. He zipped up his jacket as a cool breeze swept pass them, the blaring noise of cars zooming by, people yelling out for taxis, and the chattering of teenagers exiting the library after taking the test getting louder as they descended downward.

"Well no one said I was gonna be easy," the young man shrugged. "I think you did pretty well. You look focused and determined. You should have seen me when I took that exam. I was a total stressed out mess."

She giggled at that, an image of a very tense and nervous sixteen year old Link sitting at a table in front of a computer forming in her mind, and folded her arms across her chest. "I mean, I expected it to be hard, but nothing like _that_! The multiple answer choices were so similar that they _all_ looked like the correct answer, but there was no "all of the above" choice! Some of them were the "A and B", "C and D", "A and D" questions! I _hated_ those…"

"Heh… Don't worry about it, Zel. I'm sure you did very well. You're without a doubt the smartest kid who took that test."

"Thanks Link," she replied. "But I wouldn't say I'm the _smartest_. Ten thousand teenagers from all over Hyrule were in that library taking that test," she pointed her thumb behind her toward the façade of the art-deco styled building. "There's bound to be _someone_ who's smarter than I could ever hope to be."

"Maybe," he said. "But to me, you'll always be number one."

The young girl laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "You're sweet, Link."

He blushed faintly and nodded. "I know," he responded jokingly, which resulted in him getting pushed playfully by Zelda.

"You wanna go to Error's Café for a late lunch?" He offered. "I'm buyin'."

"Sure!" She exclaimed happily.

THAT EVENING

It was eight o' clock in the evening, and Link was watching television in his living room with a half full can of Budweiser in his right hand and the remote control in his left. Like he told Zelda's father, he wasn't much of a drinker, but he had a craving for some alcohol in hopes that it would drown out his stress.

'_I really wonder how Zelda did today… She's really smart; she should at least be right on the qualifying score, right? Then again, only a thousand actually pass, and that test is one of the hardest out there… It would be really nice if she did, though. She'd automatically be a Senior, and after June, she's not a high school student anymore!'_

Then, the last sentence clicked into his mind.

'_She'd automatically be a Senior, and after June, she's not a high school student anymore!'_

"She wouldn't be a high school student anymore…" He spoke aloud. "…And she wouldn't be _my_ student anymore!"

'_That taboo crap didn't say you couldn't have a relationship with a student that _isn't_ yours, right? If Zelda weren't my student, then… Oh shit!'_

He nearly jumped for joy, setting his beer on the side table, getting ready to dance for joy, but then he remembered something.

As smart as Zelda was, her chances of passing are very bleak. He looked over the test before he passed it out to the fifty students in the room he was monitoring with another teacher, and most of the questions in the history section even he couldn't answer, and he had a Master's degree in the field of history with four completed years in college and a an additional two years of postgraduate school. The questions and subjects may have been twelfth grade level, but since he was in high school, times have changed, and so have academic standards and expectations in the Hylian compulsory education system. As much as he hated to admit it, if he couldn't answer the questions, there was probably no way Zelda would be able to, either.

His heart plunged into a freefall, and he slumped back down onto the sofa in heavy disappointment.

'_There's no way Zelda would be able to pass…'_ He lamented dismally. But then, a very deceitful and highly illegal idea formed in his brain.

'_Unless… a friend and I intervene.'_

He quickly got up from the couch and grabbed his cell phone from off the dining table, rapidly dialing a phone number on the keypad.

"…Hello Mido? It's Link. Get over here now, and bring your laptop."

…

"You want me to _what!?_"

Mido was up in arms at Link's almost idiotic request.

Mido Linder is one of Link's few male friends, with their friendship dating back to sophomore year in college. Mido was quite the academic prodigy: he was one of the handfuls of people who passed the JSAPTs with a relatively high score, majored in computer engineering at Hyrule University, and was his and Link's class valedictorian, graduating with a 5.0 GPA. He was somewhat short for his age, just reaching up to Link's shoulders in height.

"I want you to hack into the school system database, access the records from the JSAPTs that were held today, and I want you to check the scores for one of my students."

"You called me all the way here to _break the law!?_" Mido yelled incredulously. "Absolutely not!"

"Come on, Mido!" Link pleaded. "You're my friend! I'd do anything for you!"

"No is no." The young man stated firmly, although his tenacity was beginning to crack at the helpless sight of the blonde before him.

"Mido, don't make me beg. This girl is very special to me."

"That's what you've been saying with all the others!" Mido shot back.

"This girl is different. I'm deeply in love with her. I've never felt the way I feel for her for any other girl I've been with. Please, Mido." Link got off the sofa and knelt before the young genius, taking his fists into his hands and shaking them beseechingly. "Please… Please… _Please…_"

Mido has never seen his friend like this before. Never has he seen Link Avalon- one of the biggest heartbreakers he's ever known- so worked up over one girl. His crystal blue eyes were overflowing with certainty, hope, and promise. His voice was solid and serious. He could tell that Link wanted this more than he could ever dream of, and it was quickly melting his resolve.

The young boy on the sofa sighed in defeat and nodded slowly. "If it means that much to you… then I'll do it."

Link almost burst into tears of joy at his answer, but held them back and placed both his hands on Mido's shoulders. "Thank you so much, my friend."

"Yeah, yeah…" Mido reached for his laptop and began typing rapidly, trying to break into the Hylian Education Bureau's mainframe.

After a few minutes and much strife with the system's security, Mido finally hacked into the database.

"I'm in," he said to Link. The blonde punched his fist into his palm approvingly. "Look for the JSAPTs records."

Mido nodded in reply and scrolled up and down the window until he finally found the link. He clicked on it and appeared was a list of names of the students who took the test, and to the left of their names was their school identification picture, and to the right was their school ID number and their score.

Link leaned in to see the screen, and as Mido scrolled down, he saw many percentages below twenty-five percent. To pass, you need at least _eighty_ percent.

"What are we gonna do if she didn't make it?" Mido asked him.

"Simple: we access her test and we change the answers so that the score is above eighty percent."

The computer genius' eyes bugged out at his answer. "Are you insane!?"

"Did I stutter?" The young man retorted. "We've come this far; I'm not gonna give up now."

"…What if we get caught?" Mido asked nervously.

"Don't worry, my friend." Link smiled reassuringly. "If we do, I'll take full responsibility. I'll tell them you had no involvement whatsoever."

Mido smiled at the blonde. "Thanks, Link."

"No problem. Now, to speed things up, search for "Harkinian"."

The computer whiz nodded and opened a search bar. He typed in Zelda's last name as Link dictated the letters. A few seconds later, Zelda's name appeared in the middle of the screen.

'_Harkinian, Zelda…051990069'_

Both Link and Mido turned further to the right to see her score, and what they saw was absolutely mind boggling.

'…_100 percent.'_

* * *

AUTOBIOGRAPHY ALERT: The present idea with the band-aid box I actually did to my friend, only I put twenty dollars in it. Pretty funny, eh? 

Review, please.

* * *

End time: December 28, 2006; 1:42 AM

* * *


	14. Zelda the History Maker

* * *

Start time: December 30, 2006; 1:42 PM

* * *

I should have started this chapter yesterday. I promised in my profile I'd get this chapter up before New Year's, and I have a whole lot of crap to get done today and tomorrow other than this.

* * *

"Zelda…"

Link rested his elbows on his desk and raised his hands up to his head so that he was resting his chin on it, twiddling his thumbs slowly.

He still could not believe that Zelda became the first and only student to ever pass the Junior-Senior Advanced Promotion Test. The second highest score was eighty-one percent, just one point higher than the required percentage to pass. It was all very surreal: two hundred million high school Juniors took the exam since its foundation twenty years ago, and one student- one out of _two hundred million_- passed with a perfect score. He's heard that nine out of ten times the top scorer is a girl, and this year was no different.

Link couldn't help but feel kind of sad. He wouldn't have Zelda in his first period class anymore, smiling at him whenever she stepped into the classroom. Then again, he'd always see her around campus, such as during lunch, passing periods, and school functions, also, his second, third, and fifth periods were Hylian Government History- subjects taken by twelfth grade students, and he was hoping that he'd be in one of them. Still, first period wouldn't be the same.

"Link."

He looked up to see Zelda standing in front of him.

"What?"

"You were calling me," she explained.

The young man blushed somewhat at that. He didn't notice that he spoke her name aloud; he thought that he said it in his head.

"So do you need anything?" She asked.

"Umm…" Link looked around his desk quickly, trying to find a task for her to do so it didn't look like he called her up for nothing, but came up with nothing. "No… I was just, err, talking to myself…"

The girl gave him a half-smile and raised an eyebrow before turning around and walking back to her seat. "Weirdo."

He chuckled as he picked up his pencil and began to twirl it around his thumb absentmindedly.

A few minutes later, a soft chiming sound came over the intercom system.

"_Attention."_

Everyone heard a deep, booming voice echo over the intercom. Link knew that voice: it was Rauru's.

"_All students and faculty are to report to the amphitheatre immediately," _Rauru said. _"I repeat… All students and faculty are to report to the amphitheatre immediately. That is all."_

They heard the microphone hang up, and the chiming sound played over the speakers again.

Link sighed as the class broke out into low whispers, discussing why Rauru had called a meeting, and by his tone of voice, it seemed pretty urgent.

"Well you heard the man!" Link yelled out. "Let's go."

"Do we bring our backpacks, Link?" Romani asked from the back.

The blonde glanced over to the clock for a moment. They had fifteen minutes before second period. "Ehh… Sure, go ahead," he replied. "We might be there until the end of the period."

Romani nodded and slung her backpack over her shoulder, gathering her books and hugging it to her chest. Link grabbed his keys and his cell phone before leading his students out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

The halls were filled with students and teachers, with the noise of people chattering growing as more and more people poured out of the classrooms.

"Hey Link!"

Link turned around to see Zelda trying to push her way through the sea of people. He turned around and struggled to get to her. He felt like a fish trying to swim upstream; it was becoming increasingly harder for him to make his way as the crowds thickened and became denser. Finally, they both caught up with each other and they continued to follow the mob of students to the amphitheatre.

"Do you know what this is about?" Zelda asked.

"Not a clue," he responded, running a hand through his thick hair.

"Guys!"

The duo turned to see Malon in front of them. They smiled at the redhead and the three of them began walking together.

"Are you guys planning your secret getaway so you can finally love each other in peace?" Malon joked as they turned the corner towards the quad.

That caused Link to snap his head so that he was facing Zelda, a terror stricken stare fallen on his face. "You told her!?"

"It's okay!" The two girls cried out.

"I'm not gonna tell anyone," Malon reassured. "I promise."

"Did you tell anyone else?" He asked Zelda suspiciously.

"Saria," the blonde girl replied. Link turned forward, and she heard him mumble, "Great" sarcastically under his breath.

"But that's it!" Zelda added quickly. "…How about _you_? Did _you_ tell anyone?"

"Navi and two other friends," he simply stated.

"I only told two people!" Zelda exclaimed. "You went and told three!"

"Okay, okay!" The blonde boy chuckled and raised his hands up as a sign of defeat. "Sorry!"

The three laughed and they continued to walk, turning to the left, passing the cafeteria and the gymnasium.

"…I couldn't sleep all night last night," Zelda spoke, breaking the silence that fell upon them.

"Why not?" Malon asked.

"I was too anxious about what I got on that JSAPT exam."

Link looked at her from the corner of his eye and snickered inwardly.

"You took that test?" Malon tucked a few strands of red hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," the blonde girl replied.

"I was thinking about it," the redhead said. "I was too afraid that I'd fail to take that test, so I didn't. I'd be scarred for life if I found out I failed."

The two blondes smiled and Zelda spoke up. "It was Link here to persuaded me into doing it," she poked the boy in his stomach, and he twitched at the ticklish sensation she sent through his body.

"Was it really? How was it? The test, I mean," Malon pressed.

"It was only the hardest test I've ever taken!" Link and Malon laughed at the blonde. "Half of the questions I guessed on because the multiple questions were either so similar that they all sounded right or because I didn't know the answer to altogether."

The young man turned to Zelda and raised an eyebrow. _'She got lucky with those guesses. That much is for sure.'_

"I bet I failed," Zelda spoke dismally.

"I don't know," Link said as he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Don't be so pessimistic. You may have done better than you think."

"Yeah, Zel," Malon rested her elbow on the female blonde's shoulders as they walked through the gate to the amphitheatre. "Link's right. You're the smartest chick there is for sure!"

"Thanks guys," Zelda smiled.

"Remember," Link started, "believe, right?"

"Right," she agreed. "I wish I had at least eighty percent." She turned to Malon. "That's how much you need to pass," she explained.

"Malon and I will hope for you too," the boy said. He turned to Malon, and she looked at him. "Right, Malon?"

"For sure," she flashed a smirk.

They walked down the aisle stairs towards the Junior section, which was at the top of the center section. The Freshmen occupied the entire left section, the Sophomores on the right, and the Seniors took the bottom half of the mid-section.

The amphitheatre, or "amp" as called by many of the students, was an outdoor venue, situated behind the ROTC building and facing the stage, the student parking lot was to the left. The amp was where the pep rallies were held every Friday, and many other school functions were held here as well. It was decorated in the schools colors, white, navy, and golden-yellow: the wooden bleachers were painted navy, the concrete floors were painted white, and the backdrop for the stage was the school's mascot, a gold Keaton, which was a legendary Hylian fox with three tails, covered in gold fur with black tips on the tails and the ears, and distinct slanted eyes.

The three took their seats in the middle of a bleacher located in the center of the Junior section, with the rest of their class taking seats around them. On stage was Rauru talking two three men and one woman in business suits and the Senior ASB members preparing the sound system.

"Hey Link," Malon spoke, getting the male blonde's attention.

"What's up?" He diverted his attention off the stage to her.

"What's this assembly about?"

He shrugged and scratched his head. "I know no more than you do."

"I see," she finished nonchalantly.

Rauru took a microphone from a senior girl and he spoke into it.

"Mic test… One, two, three…" His voice echoed through the stereo and the talking of the students slowly died down.

"Good morning, Hyrule High!" The principal greeted over the microphone.

The entire student body replied with a "Good morning, sir" in perfect unison.

"These four people behind me," the old man gestured to the three men and one woman standing behind him, "are from the Hyrule Education Board, and are in charge of all country-wide diagnostic and standardized tests and exams taken by students all across Hyrule."

He handed the microphone to each of them, allowing them to introduce themselves to the some four thousand students before them. Once they were done, they handed the microphone back to Rauru.

"Now," Rauru started," I suppose you're all wondering why I called you here today, and I might as well explain myself. This is a meeting concerning the Junior-Senior Advanced Promotion Tests that were held yesterday at the Hyrule Castle Town Metropolitan Library."

There were suddenly low whispers and murmuring coming from the students. Zelda chuckled and turned to Malon and Link. "He's probably gonna tells us how everyone who took it failed."

The blonde boy smiled slightly and the three turned back to Rauru.

"The underclassmen may not know what this test is," Rauru said, "and for those who don't know, it's a test given to eleventh graders throughout Hyrule, functioning as an opportunity to automatically be promoted to the twelfth grade upon passing the exam. It is probably the hardest test you will ever take, should you decide to attempt the exam. Of the annual ten thousand students who try this test, less than one-tenth pass it… _barely._"

The redheaded woman standing with the three men took the microphone from Rauru. "Ninety-five hundred students across Hyrule took the JSAPTs this year," she said, "two thousand were from the Greater Hyrule Castle Town area, and one hundred were from this school."

She handed the microphone to a man next to her who looked in his early thirties, had well groomed blonde hair and emerald green eyes.

"The tests results this year were very… surprising to say the least, but we will get to that later," he spoke. "Other than one student's score, the results were rather similar to the other nineteen years: of the nine thousand, five hundred students, nine hundred students passed. Of those nine hundred, eight-fifty had a barely there score, passing with the required eighty percent. Fifty exceeded the eighty percent mark."

He handed it to the man next to him who had reddish-brown locks and blue eyes. "Twenty-five of the students who passed are from this school. Once again, Hyrule High School has the highest percentage of passing students."

All the students and teachers broke out into cheering, chanting "Hyrule High! Hyrule High!"

Rauru and the four suited individuals chuckled, and the brunette handed the microphone to the last man, who had silver-blonde hair and red eyes- the distinct characteristics of the Sheikah tribe.

"However, one student made history yesterday," the Sheikah said, causing the crowd to die down. "She did the unthinkable by becoming the first student in Hyrule's history by passing the exam with a perfect score, and she's sitting in this very amphitheatre."

Everyone began looking around at the girls in the Junior section, trying to pick out who the genius was.

"Who do you think it could be?" Malon asked excitedly.

"I think they're playing a cruel and sick joke," Zelda muttered. "No one could pass that test with a perfect score; they're a _freak_ if they do."

"You never know," Link smirked. "She could be closer than you think she is."

"Maybe you're the girl!" A girl chimed in. The three looked behind them to see Romani smiling a Zelda. "You're hella smart, Zel! It's a scandal if you're not her!"

"Fat chance!" The sixteen year-old blonde scoffed. "I just hope I passed! Do you know how much of a miracle it would take if I were the girl with that perfect score?"

"Hey now," Link scolded. "Believe, right?"

She smiled and shrugged. "Yeah… Believe."

"Would Zelda Harkinian please step forward?" Rauru spoke over the microphone.

The entire amphitheatre came to a complete and total silence. Everyone turned to Zelda, who was bug-eyed and her jaw was dropped open.

Zelda was probably in the biggest state of shock in her life. There were over eight thousand eyes on her at that moment. She looked around her, and she has never felt more people looking at her in her life than now. It was so deathly quiet that a cricket's chirping sounded like a bomb being dropped.

From at the top bench of the center section, Ruto stood up and got on top of her bench.

"Zelda, hell yeah!" She cried out loud.

With that, the entire Junior class broke out into a deafening cheer, repeating Zelda's name over and over, followed by the Freshmen, the Sophomores, and the Seniors respectively.

"What are you waiting for!?" Romani cried out to the blonde.

"Yeah!" Link pulled her up to her feet and pushed her down the aisle.

"Get your ass down there!" Malon exclaimed to her, causing Zelda to laugh.

As she made her way down the row and down the steps to the stage, people patted her on the back, showering her with compliments.

"Way to go, Zelda!"

"When I'm a Junior, I wanna be smart just like you!"

"How the hell did you was with a hundred percent!?"

"Welcome to the Senior class, Zelda!"

"You're awesome now, Zelda! You're officially Class of '07!"

She couldn't help but laugh heartily. She felt like a giant superstar like making their way center stage after winning a prestigious award, and in a way, she _was_ a giant superstar making her way center stage after winning a prestigious award.

At the foot of the stage, Rauru came forward and took her hand, helping her up the few steps. She was now before four thousand students and two hundred faculty members, cheering and yelling her name.

"Would Zelda's teachers come forward, please," Rauru spoke over the din. "Her counselor Impa Hosking, her AP Calculus teacher Ingo Tingle, her Human Psychology teacher Nayru Love, her AP Hylian Language teacher Farore Wind, her PE teacher Darunia Goron, her AP Hylian Literature teacher Cremia Nohansen, and her AP Hylian History teacher… Link Avalon." Rauru's voice became rather reluctant as he spoke Link's name, but no one took notice, except for Link of course, and for very obvious reasons.

The teachers made their way to the stage, congratulating Zelda. Darunia almost broke the girl's tiny frame in half due to the strength of his hug. As Link passed Rauru, they both connected gazes, trying to shoot each other down, and Zelda took note of this. The young man broke away and his angry glare turned into a happy and joyful smile faster than a bipolar person could as he faced Zelda. He took her into an embrace and tightened it for a nanosecond.

"Congrats, Zel," he whispered into her ear. She unenthusiastically pulled away and smiled at him. "Thanks, Link. Why'd you look at Rauru like that?"

He looked at the ground for a second and faced her again. "We'll discuss it later."

Zelda merely nodded and walked over to the four suits as they beckoned for her, and they praised her for doing so well.

Rauru tapped her on the shoulder and he handed her the microphone. "Would you like to say a few things to your classmates?"

She nodded and took the mic in her hand, facing the crowd as her teachers, Rauru, and the four members of the education board backed away, allowing her to give her room.

"Hello," Zelda spoke softly into the microphone, and the cheering eventually silenced.

"I… really don't know what to say. In full honesty, I don't know how I even passed that test, much less get all the questions right. Half of those questions I guessed on and I'm pretty darn lucky to get them right."

Everyone laughed softly, and the blonde continued talking.

"At first, I wasn't even going to take this test, but my history teacher and good friend Link here," she extended her hand out to him, and he tentatively stepped forward, and the Juniors and Seniors clapped as he waved to the students and took Zelda's open hand. "It was Link who persuaded me into attempting this exam, and I'm really grateful to him for his encouragement. I'm also thankful to all these wonderful people behind me," she pointed to her teachers and Rauru, "for always pushing me and telling me to do my best, as well as Link. And my friends, too!"

At that time, Malon, Saria, Ruto, Nabooru, and Romani stood up and cheered, howling out Zelda's name like wild Wolfos. The rest of the student body clapped and Zelda laughed into the microphone when she discovered that even with the three thousand nine hundred ninety four students clapping, the quintet was still louder.

"They make me happy when they clap," Zelda chuckled, pointing to the five girls. "That's what I like, and all of you, of course… Whew, thank you. In short, I'm just really grateful and thankful to the Goddesses and anyone who has helped me in any way at all. To my parents… My friends… My teachers… Their support is virtually unparalleled, and I most definitely would have failed if it weren't for them, so thanks."

Zelda flashed a smile and walked off stage back to her seat, garnering cheering and applause from her classmates.

2:21 PM: AFTERSCHOOL

"So how does it feel to be a Senior?"

Zelda looked up at Link as they made their way towards the front gate.

"Not much different… I've been getting compliments left and right ever since this morning."

"Hey Zelda!" A girl approached them, but didn't stop. "Don't let anyone get near your head! It holds precious cargo." And with that, she continued to walk away.

"You see?" Zelda joked.

"You're a history maker," Malon said. "You better get used to it."

"I guess," the female blonde responded. "I mean, I'm grateful, but all I really want is some peace and quiet. I can't step out of a classroom without someone coming up to me and telling me how smart I am. Not that I don't appreciate it or anything…"

The redhead chuckled and looked at Link, who was on Zelda's right side. "Poor thing; she's led such a sheltered and plain life…"

Link snickered softly. "Maybe she's old."

Zelda gasped and turned to both of them. "Look who's talking!" She poked the young man in his belly. "Mister I'm-so-old!"

"Whatever," he muttered nonchalantly, and they continued to walk.

"So where were you during lunch and PE?" Malon finally said, breaking the silence between the three of them.

"I was with Impa all day discussing things like the new curriculum and my new schedule," Zelda replied.

"Oh?" Link cocked an eyebrow. "What's the new schedule look like?"

The female blonde reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to him. Darunia was still her PE teacher, and PE was still her fifth period class. He noticed that she was in his third period, much to his delight.

"Can I see, Link?" Malon asked him. He nodded and handed her the paper.

"Did Impa choose those classes for you?" The male asked.

"No," Zelda replied. "I hand picked them myself."

"And it shows," the redhead piped in. "Your PE class is the same still, and you have Link for Hylian Government. As far as I'm concerned, I don't think Impa would choose those classes for you."

The two blondes laughed and they walked through the main gate towards the parking lot.

FRIDAY EVENING

Link set the table quickly, placing two plates in front of the seats with accompanying silverware.

It was a few minutes before six, and Zelda should be arriving at any moment.

On that afternoon the earlier Monday, Link and Zelda had agreed to have dinner at his house to celebrate her passing the JSAPTs. Zelda was also going to stay the night afterwards. This night was the only thing that kept Link going through the week.

The clock stroke six, and almost on cue, the doorbell rung. He looked in a mirror to check himself over, and he made his way over to the door. He slowly opened the door, and before him was Zelda holding her Chanel bag and a backpack. The girl was clad in all white: she had on a pair of white form-fitting pants, a white belt with a gold buckle, white high block heels, a white sleeveless turtle neck top that showed off her mid-riff, and a white jacket. Link smirked to himself; if she were to go outside, she'd surely blend in with the snow.

"Hi Link," she spoke, leaning in to peck him softly on his lips.

"Hey. Haven't you ever heard of being fashionably late?" He joked.

She chuckled and shrugged him off. "I'm sorry. I'll just stay out here in the hallway until six o' one. Any better?"

The young man smiled and let her in, closing the door behind her. "I hope you worked up an appetite today."

"Are you kidding?" Zelda took off her jacket and set it on the sofa, followed by her boots. "This dinner is the only reason why I even bothered getting out of bed this morning."

Link laughed and headed for the kitchen, turning off the stove.

…

"Oh wow…"

Zelda leaned back into her chair, not being able to take another bite of Link's enchiladas.

"Would you like some dessert?" Link smiled, already knowing her answer.

"Oh, please… No thank you…" Zelda laughed and looked at him weakly.

"Okay… So how did your parents react to the whole "Zelda got a perfect score" thing?"

"They totally blew it out of proportion," she smiled.

"Did they really?"

"Not in the bad way," she added. "It was like, yeah, it's amazing, but they alerted literally everyone they have ever met in their lives."

"Bragging about you?" He guessed.

"Bragging doesn't even do what they were doing justice. They practically rubbed everyone's faces in it."

"Haha," he snickered. "Parents will be parents. You know how they get when their children do something outstanding."

"They always talk about how their kids are superior."

The young man winked at her. "Bingo."

After a little while of talking, they cleaned up the table and put the leftovers into the refrigerator, washed all the dishes and they headed for the living room to watch some television.

"So do you like being a Senior?" Link asked as he held her closer to her, wrapping the blanket tighter around them.

"I like it," she replied. "I finally feel like there's no one above me."

"Especially since you just showed that you mastered every twelfth grade standard in the education system with just one test."

"I suppose," she said, yawning softly.

"So have _you_ been gloating to others about your recent accomplishment?"

"You'd think so, right?" The girl smirked.

"Is that a no?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Well, yeah. I mean, it feels good to do what I did. Who wouldn't, you know? But if you take it for granted and triumph about it excessively, it doesn't really make you look like the humblest person in the world."

Link thought about that. "You do have a point…"

"To be honest," she continued. "I haven't even really thought about it at all."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She rested her head on his shoulder. "If someone were to take me and put me in an empty, quiet room, and tell me to reflect on how it feels to be the only person to ever score perfectly on that test… I'd probably freak out and have a panic attack."

The young man laughed and she slapped his chest playfully. "I'm serious! I'm still having trouble getting over the fact that I even passed the test, much less get all the questions right! People come up to me, and they're so amazed at how I got a perfect score… Well, how do you think _I_ feel about that? Can you blame me for thinking I'd freak out if I were to really contemplate the fact that, "Oh, I'm the first and only person in history to do this"?"

"No, I guess I can't blame you," he replied.

"I just try to not let it get to me, you know? I'm still the same person, but people treat me differently, and I can't blame them… but still."

Link nodded slowly and the two continued to watch the television is silence until they slowly drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

* * *

I'm really sorry if this chapter's boring.

Speaking of the last chapter, the next chapter I think will be the last one. Sad to say, but I think it's true. I think it's time, anyway. I don't know for sure, but I really think the next chapter will be the last.

Anyway, I have a new story in the works. Like this story, it's gonna be Zelda, Zelink, AU, OOC, and high school. It should go up tomorrow, so look out for it, yeah.

I hope you all guys had a really awesome 2006, and I wish you all a Happy New Year's and much joy in 2007. Have a good one.

Review, please.

* * *

End time: December 31, 2006; 11:45 PM, PST

* * *


	15. This One Moment

* * *

Start time: January 15, 2007; 10:02 AM, PST

* * *

So here it is people. The long-anticipated chapter fifteen of _Sensei_. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me so far. 

I'm working on two chapters at the same time. This, and chapter five for _Signed, Sincerely Me._ If you have yet to read that, please do. It's my next major story, and I'm putting a whole lot of creative effort into it. You'll know how much if you read it, because there's a lot more than the story itself in there. There are poems and songs and things like that.

Speaking of poems, look at my other latest effort, _though the Looking Glass._ It's just a quick poem, but I have to say that it's really good, and I personally think it's one of my best achievements.

NOTE: If the tenses of the verbs change from past-tense to present-tense, I apologize. It's because I've been writing _Signed, Sincerely Me_ in present-tense, and I'm used to that format, and it looks awkward since the other chapters of this story are told from past-tense.

Anyway, here's chapter fifteen.

* * *

"No, no, no!" 

Link looked over to Zelda, who was sitting across from him, pencil in hand, scribbling something on a piece of paper in front of her.

"What is it?" He asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"This freakin' speech," she muttered. "It's all wrong."

It is now early June, about six months since Zelda was promoted to the twelfth grade, and not a lot has happened in that six month time frame. Link has been busy with teaching, especially in March and April when the students were taking their standardized tests. Zelda has been just as busy, if not more: she has been swamped with homework ever since she started the twelfth grade. She's been working, working, working all day throughout school, and at home, she's studying, studying, studying until the early morning, pretty much having no life outside of school related priorities. Her and Link have not had as much time together as they would want to, and having time to themselves, doing nothing but spending time with each other, was beginning to become more seldom.

Now that it was June, only two weeks before the school year ended, their free time was slowly but surely beginning to increase, despite all of the end of the year activities that Link had to plan with the other teachers, and all of the Senior priorities that Zelda had to complete. She just recently finished her Senior exhibition with an A+ as her reward from all of the panelists that were present. She was accepted into Hyrule University of a scholarship, mainly because she got a perfect score on the JSAPTs in January. She was voted by her peers as the class Valedictorian, finishing off her high school career with a 4.5. Along with graduating first in her class, she was also expected to deliver the class speech, and she was very nervous about the idea.

The two are now at Error's Café. It's a Friday afternoon, one week before the Senior Prom and two weeks before the graduation ceremony that was being held at the HCT Metrodome, and Zelda is busy with her speech. It's been two weeks since she was told that she was to speak in front of the Senior class, the faculty, and the thousands of family members, relatives and friends that were going to be present that Friday morning, and so far, it hasn't been progressing well.

"Link," she looks up to him. "What was your speech like? Maybe I can get some ideas if I look at something."

He sets down his mug and sighs softly, thinking about it. "I don't really remember. I was such a nervous wreck that I passed out right then and there on the podium. Didn't wake up until after the ceremony."

Her eyes widened in terror and almost dropped the mug in her hand onto her paper. "Good Goddesses!"

The young man started laughing hysterically and shook his head. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

She shot him a glaring scowl and slapped him on the arm. "Link, that wasn't funny!"

"Come on, Zel…" He sighs, his laugher dying down. "It's all in good fun, you know? Lighten up a bit."

"How can I lighten up!?" The girl cried out in exasperation, standing up to her feet. "I have to get a speech ready in two weeks and read it in front of nearly ten thousand people, and I haven't even gotten the first sentence down! I still need to get a date for the prom, and I don't even have my dress picked out yet! I have to-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Link got up and rested his hands on her shoulders soothingly. "Calm down for a second! You still have two weeks, Zelda. That's more than enough time to get all of that done. I'll be with you every step of the way. I'll help you get it all squared away. Count on it."

She sighed in relief and gave him a thankful smile. "Thank you so much, Link."

"No problem," he winked. The two took their seats, and he gave everyone staring at them dirty looks, which caused them to turn away and continue with their business. "I had to deal with the same problems when I was in your position, only I had no help from anyone. The least I can do is helping you pull through."

She giggled and pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks, Link. So what really happened at your graduation? No jokes this time."

Link paused for a second before answering. "I didn't have my speech ready in time. When it came for me to get up in front of everyone, I just said whatever came to mind. I think it came out really well; I got a standing ovation from everyone."

"Yeah, well…" Zelda starts. "I don't think it'll work for me."

"its okay, Zel." He took another sip. "If you don't come up with a speech in time, just think back to your school life. You have a lot to talk about anyway. The JSAPTs, the valedictorian, the whole "I slept with my teacher" thing…"

"Fat chance!" She scoffed loudly. "Like I'm really going to tell ten thousand people about that!"

"Whatever floats your boat, Zel," he replied. "Just throwing ideas out there is all."

"Whatever," the girl shook her head.

A few moments later, Navi came up to them with two plates of food in her hand. "Sorry for the wait," she apologized. "Here's your croissant, Link." She handed him a plate with a croissant, a small stick of butter and a fork and knife on it.

"Thanks Navi," he said.

"No problem," the waitress replied. "Zelda, this is your toast." Navi handed a plate with two pieces of golden toast covered in butter and powdered sugar, along with a fork and knife.

"Thank you," Zelda looked up at her.

"You're welcome. How's that speech coming along?" Navi asked, tucking her pencil behind her ear.

"Not as great as I hoped," the female blonde laments.

"its okay, Zelda," the waitress comforts. "Link's was awesome, and all he did was BS the whole thing!"

"Yes," he nodded triumphantly, his mouth full of food. "Impromptu, people! Bow down to me."

"Eww, Link!" Navi cringed. "Don't talk with your mouth full! That is so rude!" He just rolled his eyes and swallowed what was in his mouth. "Whatever, Navi."

"Whatever yourself," she snapped back playfully, and turned to Zelda. "You bought the tickets, right? Can I get one?"

Zelda dropped the fork in her hand in shock. "Tickets!? I forgot the tickets! Link!"

"Take a chill pill!" He cried out, reaching into his pocket. "I had a feeling you were going to forget them, so I took the liberty of picking them up for you." He pulled out an envelope that read "Zelda Harkinian" on the back. "There are twenty inside."

"Twenty?" Navi raised an eyebrow. "What the hell? We were only given ten!"

"For real," he nodded in agreement. "But whatever. Ours was held at Triforce Amphitheatre, and there's only a limited amount of seats there."

"Where is it being held this year?" The waitress asked.

"The HCT Metrodome," he replied.

"Wow that place?" She raised both eyebrows. "That's cool. Anyway, I have to get back to work. Zelda, if you have spare tickets, make sure you give me one, yeah?"

"Consider it done," Zelda nodded. Navi flashed a grin and walked away into the kitchen.

The two proceeded to eat in silence.

"You ran for Prom Queen, right?" Link finally asks, and Zelda shook her head, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. "Why not? You would have won for sure!"

"Being Prom Queen would have been nice," she started, "but I'm so swamped with school work I wouldn't have time to keep up a decent campaign, even if I had half of the student body helping me. I'm fine with it, though. Scoring one hundred percent on the JSAPT and becoming valedictorian is more than enough."

Link nodded slowly and took the last bite of his croissant.

"…Were _you_ the Prom King in your Senior year?" She asked. The young man swallowed his food and washed it down with coffee.

"Nope. I didn't run."

"Why not?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. I just didn't. People tried to nominate me, but I told them to withdraw my name."

"Oh…" Zelda pushed her empty plate aside and took her pencil in her hand, and started to write onto her paper, but then she paused. "Do you wanna go?"

Link looked up from his empty plate to meet his eyes with hers. "Huh?"

"To the prom," she said. "Would you like to accompany me?"

"As in a date?" He asked dumbly.

The girl rolled her eyes. "No, Link as my assistant. Of course as a date!"

"I knew that," he snapped, rolling his eye back at her. "Why ask me?"

"Well…" She twirled her pencil between her index and middle finger. "All the Senior guys I know already have dates… I can't take any of my Junior friends… So that leaves you."

He thought about it for a second, and then he answered. "Sure, I'll go."

She beamed widely and got up from her seat and went over to his side of the table and hugged him tightly. "Thanks. Pick me up at six, okay?"

He nodded and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Sure thing."

…

Link stepped out of his car and slammed the door, locking it with the button on the key. He pushed his sleeve back slightly to check the time on his watch.

"6:00 PM."

He didn't want to look like a freak showing up _on time_, so he turned around to check himself out in the car window to make sure everything was neat. He looked over to his watch again.

"6:01 PM."

He adjusted his tie and walked over to the door and stopped a few inches in front of it. He took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell.

A few seconds later, the door swung open and before him was Zelda's mom smiling at him.

"Hello, Link."

"Hey, Mrs. Harkinian," he smiles back. She lets him into the house and she closes the door behind him. He sees her father come out of the kitchen with a beer bottle in hand, and the second he catches sight of Link, his eyes glow.

"Link, my boy!" He bellows happily. The two men give each other a slapping handshake. "How've you been, son?"

"I'm fine, sir," Link nods.

"So, Link…" He takes a swig of beer. "You'll going to be taking Zelda to her prom, right? Kind of strange that a teacher and student are going as dates…"

"Oh, no, sir," Link shakes his head. "Zelda and I are going as friends. She had no date to go with, and I'm supposed to chaperone tonight, so it works out for everyone."

The blonde chuckles inwardly at his fabrication. _'It may not have been the exact truth… But at least I didn't lie.'_

Zelda's dad laughs and slaps him on the back, almost making Link stumble forward again.

"Daphnes!" Her mom cries out, helping Link regain his composure. "Honestly, you could break something!"

"Nonsense!" Daphnes shook his head. "Link here is a strong young man. I doubt I could injure him."

Link just smiles awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "its okay, Mrs. Harkinian. Thank you, though."

A few moments later, they hear a soft feminine voice clear its throat from the top of the stairs. The three look up and see Zelda smiling down at them.

Zelda was wearing a white floor length halter gown that hugged her figure. The neckline was a wide V-neck, and exposed ample cleavage and made her breasts look bigger than they really were much to Link's delight. The straps tied around her neck, and the top half was opaque white. At the mid-thigh, the skirt became more flowing, and became translucent white with slits on both sides that went up to the line where the dress transitioned from solid to semi-transparent. In her hair was sleek white headband, and her blonde locks went kind of waved then curled at the tips, with some bangs over her left eye. Golden Triforce earrings hung from her ears, shimmering in the light. On her shoulder was her Chanel bag, and in her hand was her RAZR cell phone.

Zelda observed Link closely. He was wearing a dark blue tuxedo with a matching tie, and underneath was a white dress shirt. His shoes were black and so shiny to the point that they could reflect light. His hair was just as messy as ever, but he pulled it off quite nicely. Not very many guys could get away in formal clothing and bed hair. She was pleased to see that he approved of the dress, in more ways than one when she noticed a bulge in his slacks. She, Malon, Saria, Nabooru, and Ruto worked hard to find all the right accessories for it.

She descended the stairs slowly, trying not to trip on her own skirt or stumble on her four inch heels. She stood in front of Link, almost meeting him at eye level thanks to her heels.

"Hi Link," she waves her fingers.

"Hey," he breathes.

"Oh, my Zelda!" Her mom cries out, almost on the verge of tears.

"Mom!" The girl complains, trying to break free of her bear hug. "I can't breathe!"

"Oops! Sorry, sweetheart," she lets go of her daughter slowly, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Ambi, get the camera!" Daphnes tells her, setting his beer bottle on the dining table. "We have to get a picture of these two!"

Ambi scrambled over to the coffee table where the camera is and turned it on, with Zelda protesting against it.

"Come on, guys!" The girl whined. "We're going to be late!"

"It's okay, Zel." Link assured. "It's not everyday that you get to go to your Senior Prom."

Ambi told the two to stand in front of the stairs and rapidly took pictures before Zelda stood forward and took the camera from her.

"That's enough, mom!" She said through laughter, pressing the off button. "You have enough to fill a photo album already!"

"_Fine_," Ambi sighed exasperatedly, taking the camera from her daughter and setting it on the dining table.

"Now Link," Daphnes started. "I expect Zelda to be home no later than midnight."

"Yes sir," the young man nodded.

"No romantic business, even if they play slow songs," Daphnes warned and Zelda stomped her foot on the ground.

"Dad! We're just going as friends!"

"Right, sir," Link agreed. "Besides, I have a girlfriend, remember?"

Daphnes' serious expression slowly turned into a smile. "Right. Well, you two have fun, okay?"

Daphnes and Ambi lead Link and Zelda over to the door. The two blondes walk out, waving goodbye to Zelda's parents. Daphnes and Ambi walk outside into the brisk, evening air and watch Link help their daughter into the car, and Link gets inside, starts up the engine, pulled out of the driveway, and drove off into the distance.

"Zelda's all grown up now, isn't she?" Ambi murmured softly, resting her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Yes, she is. She's really lucky to have a friend like Link," Daphnes replied.

"…Do you think we should tell them that we know?" Ambi asked.

"No," he shook his head. "They'll tell us."

"But what if they don't?" She furrowed her brows together.

"Don't worry, Ambi… They will."

HYRULE CASTLE TOWN INTERNATIONAL FORUM- WISDOM HALL

The school's Senior Prom is held at the Hyrule Castle Town International Forum, for simply "The Forum" for short, every year. The Forum is the city's convention center, which is the largest in the world. The prom is held in The Forum's Wisdom Hall, the largest of the many halls in the convention center, with the Power Hall and the Courage Hall rounding up the top three. The expansive room is decorated in navy, gold and white, the school colors, with balloons shaped like Keaton heads tied to many of the weights on the tables and wall decorations. Letter confetti is scattered on the tables, which spell out "CLASS OF 2007" in blue, gold and white, and the entire room was dimly illuminated with the three colors. A DJ was spinning the music, and the dance floor was crowded with kids grinding on each other, two of which were Link and Zelda, despite the formal dress code. However, it was so packed that no one noticed that the pair were student and teacher, and since Link looked so young, no one gave him a second glance.

It's nine-forty, and the night is still young. Link and Zelda were sitting at a table with four other Seniors that they met on the dance floor, and they enjoying themselves very much.

"What are your college plans, Zelda?" A girl with dark skin and golden hair named Tetra asked her.

"I got into Hyrule University," the blonde replied. Tetra and the other two Seniors' eyes widened.

"The most prestigious university in the world, Hyrule University!?" A Goron named Darmani cried out.

"Hey, what do you expect from little Miss JSAPT here?" Tetra chuckles and Zelda glares at her.

"I might just go to a community college for the first two years or something," Darmani shrugs. "And I'll apply for Castle Town State in my Sophomore or Junior year."

The other three give similar plans for their post-high school education.

"Link," Komali speaks up. "What college did you go to?"

"Same as Zelda," he replies. "I was my class Salutatorian."

"Jeez, Link." Laruto smirks. "Aren't we the little bookworm?"

"Hey," he holds up his hands defensively. "Chicks dig guys with brains. At least that's what I've heard from listening into my cousins' conversations. Why'd you think I stress my butt of for those grades?"

Komali and Darmani laugh, the three guys exchanging high fives, while Tetra, Laruto and Zelda roll their eyes.

…

Darmani, Komali, Laruto and Tetra are back on the dance floor, and Link and Zelda are on their way to the refreshment table, when they are stopped by a photographer.

"You two!" The photographer starts. "You look like a very photogenic pair! You guys wanna take your prom picture together?"

Link almost laughs at the man's uncanny ability to spit out words faster than anyone could understand. The young man looks over to Zelda. "Well, we still have to get your prom picture taken."

"You wanna?" Zelda looks up at him.

"Fabulous!" The photographer claps his hands, and guides the pair towards the backdrop without waiting for either of them to officially decide. Link and Zelda give each other awkward looks as the man fixes them in a pose. He makes Zelda stand so the right side of her face is facing the camera, since he deemed that part of her face "her good side." He makes Link stand so that his left cheek is facing the camera, and makes him put his left hand in his pants pocket, and wraps his right arm around Zelda's waist. He then takes Zelda's right hand and places it on Link's chest and makes her pop her right leg behind her. He directs her to rest her left cheek on his chest as well.

"Alrighty then…" the photographer mutters, standing behind the tripod and looks through the viewfinder on his camera. "Okay! Now give a smile and say "Keaton!"

"Keaton!" The two exclaim in unison and the man takes the snapshot. The man thanks them and just as Zelda was about to pick her bag up from the ground, the man gasps.

"WAIT!"

The duo almost jumps in surprise and turn to with confused looks.

"I had the most brilliant pose for you two? If you don't mine one more picture? Just one more?" The camera man looks at them with hopeful eyes. The two look at each other for a second.

"One more couldn't hurt…" Zelda starts softly with a weak smile.

"Fabulous!" The photographer claps his hands together, and the two stand to get up in front of the camera. The camera man makes Like stand so that he is facing the camera directly, and sets Zelda next to him so her right cheek is facing the lens again. He tells her to lean back and Link to hold her, so his arm is around her upper back. The camera man lifts Zelda's left leg in the air tells her to position her foot so that her slipper is dangling from it, and tells Link to reach under her raised leg and hold it up a little higher so he can support her in the position she's in. He then directs her to wrap her left arm around his neck, and her right to hold on to his necktie, as if she's going to pull him in for a kiss by the tie. He tells Link to smile lopsidedly with his left eyebrow raised, and Zelda to smile so that her pearly white teeth are showing.

"Perfect! You guys make an excellent pair!" The camera man gushes, peering through the view finder. ""Keaton" on three! One… Two… Three!"

"Keaton!" The two say through their smiles, and the man takes the picture.

Link and Zelda let go of each other, albeit rather reluctantly, and the camera man adjusts his camera for another couple. Zelda gets her back and puts it on her shoulder, and the man gives Link a receipt.

"Okay, on Monday when you guys go back to school," the camera man starts. "Take this receipt to the Finance Office there, and they'll give you your photo packet."

"Thanks," Link nods, and the man gives a copy to Zelda. "I'll just give one to the miss as well, just in case you're not able to make it on Monday."

"Thank you," Zelda smiles at him, stuffing the receipt in her bag.

"No, no, no, thank _you_." The camera man beams widely at them.

The two blondes walk away, over to the refreshment table, as the camera man prepares another couple for their prom picture.

HCT METRODOME- TICKET BOOTH

"Oh my Goddesses, I'm so nervous!"

Zelda's parents, her two aunties and two uncles, Bipin, Blossom, Aryll, Nabooru, Saria, Malon, Ruto, Navi and Link laugh at the young girl's nervousness.

It was finally graduation day, the day that every teenager looks forward to. The entire Senior class except Zelda was inside the Metrodome, doing one more quick entrance rehearsal, while the family members, relatives and friends were outside of the arena, waiting anxiously for the ceremony to begin. It's eight thirty, and there is still fifteen minutes before they were allowed inside the stadium.

"Zelda, you'll be fine!"

"Just calm down!"

"It's okay, Auntie Zeruda!"

Everyone tried to calm her down, but it didn't help much; the shaking of her body was all too evident.

"Did you finish your speech?" Navi asks, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, barely, though. I finished it last night. It's pretty rough around the edges, though. I might end up BS-ing it on stage."

Link and Navi chuckle softly, and Malon, Saria, Nabooru and Ruto grab hold up her, encircling her. "Zelda, you're graduating!"

"I know! It's so exciting!" The blonde squeals happily as the five girls clasp hands and jump up and down.

"Aww, but that means you won't be with us when _we're_ Seniors next year!" Ruto frowns dismally, and Zelda takes her in for a hug. "It's okay, Ruto! We'll all be best friends forever."

They all group hug, and they hear a van pull up. The group of sixteen turns around to see that it's the news van for Channel Ten. Zelda's eyes widen and she turns to Link.

"What's Channel Ten doing here?" She asks slowly as the news crew unloads their equipment.

"Hello, this is Medli Valoo for your morning news report on Channel Ten. I'm here live at the HCT Metrodome in the Metrodome City district of Downtown Castle Town, with the graduation ceremony for Hyrule High's Class of 2007, which is due to begin roughly around nine o' clock." The anchorwoman speaks into her microphone in front of the rolling camera.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Link raised an eyebrow. Her eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. "Tell me what!?"

"Hyrule High's commencement ceremony is always live on Channel Ten," he tells her as if its no big deal. "I guess I forgot to tell you? Heh-Heh…"

Zelda slapped him on the chest. "Link! How could you forget to tell me _that_!? It's one thing to talk in front of ten thousand people, but to be on national television where millions of people are going to watch me!?"

"Well, actually…" The young man scratched the back of his head. "It's a worldwide broadcast."

"LINK!"

Daphnes steps forward and takes his daughter in a tight embrace. "Calm down, Zelda! You'll be fine!"

Everyone else chimes in, trying to comfort her. Zelda pulls away, finally calm. "Okay, I'm calm. I'm relieved." She takes a deep breath with her eyes closed. "I am peaceful."

All of a sudden, there's a booming voice over the stadium's intercom. "Zelda Harkinian, please report into the Metrodome. Zelda Harkinian, please report into the Metrodome."

The young girl smiles to her family and friends. "I guess they need me."

Ambi takes her in a warm hug. "Go get 'em."

"Can do!" Zelda grins. She waves them all goodbye and makes her way to the ticket turnstiles that lead inside the stadium, and the security guards let her through. She soon disappears into the Metrodome, now out of sight.

…

The entire Senior class marches into the stadium, with the white robes leading the way. The students in white are the honor students, with a GPA of at least a 3.5; everyone else is in the traditional blue robe. The audience roared loudly as they made their way inside The Dome. Zelda, being the valedictorian, is leading the way.

The HCT Metrodome, or the Metrodome, or simply, The Dome, is the largest stadium in Hyrule. It is primarily used for baseball games, though it is a multi-purpose stadium, as it has housed conventions, concerts, and other sporting events. Hyrule High is the only school that can afford to rent out The Dome for its graduation ceremony. It can accommodate 55,000 people initially, and the floor section is changed so that an additional 25,000 people can sit there. Since the arena can seat 80,000 at the current setting, and there are a little under ten thousand people present, the arena looks rather empty, but the crowd is cheering loud enough to compensate for the missing 70,000 people. The crowd is sitting on the decks, while the students are on the floor section. The Dome is an air-supported structure, meaning that the dome is inflatable and deflatable by filling the arena with air pressure. The arena is decorated in the school colors, with banners and tapestries hanging from the upper sections and the dome above them.

Zelda looked out to the audience as she walked, trying to spot her family and friends, and she found them in the front row on the middle section, cheering her name loudly. Link was missing, since he was out on the stage with the other teachers. The Freshmen choir was singing "Pomp and Circumstance," as the Hylian International Orchestra played the accompanying music.

As soon as the choir and the orchestra finished, Rauru stood forward to the podium, greeted the class and the audience. He gave the opening speech, which was short, sweet and to the point. After a few minutes, and one or two interruptions of applauses later, he finished.

"Now," he stated. "It gives me great pleasure to present to you one of the most outstanding students this school has ever seen. She finished the school year with an outstanding 4.5 GPA. She is the youngest in her class, at just seventeen, while the rest of this year's class is eighteen. The reason for this is because she took the Junior-Senior Advanced Promotion Test the past January, and passed, earning an immediate promotion to the twelfth grade. Not only has she passed one the hardest diagnostic test a student can take, but she passed it with a perfect score, making her the first and only student to ever answer every question correctly."

The crowd gave a short applause and Rauru continued. "Please welcome the Class of 2007's valedictorian, Zelda Harkinian."

As the class and audience roared loudly, Zelda stood up from her seat in front of the stage and made her way over to Rauru. He shook her hand warmly, kissing her on the cheek and took his seat next to Link. The two men glared at each other quickly, and turned away from one another, turning their attention to Zelda.

Zelda unfolded the paper that was in her hand and laid it on the podium, waiting for the cheering to die down.

Zelda looked out to the thousands of people in front of her, and the funny thing about it was that she wasn't scared; she was calm. She leaned into the microphone and spoke into it. "Good morning." Unfortunately, she spoke so closely into the mouthpiece that a sharp feedback occurred and she jerked away. "Oh my Goddesses," she murmured into the microphone.

The quiet laugh surged through the crowd, and Link tried his hardest to stifle his laugh. Zelda smiled softly waved her hand. "I'm sorry, let me start over," she said, keeping a normal distance between her mouth and the microphone and said good morning again.

"This one moment…" She looked up the audience. "Classmates… Family members… Friends… Teachers… Today is the day that we have all been longing for. This one moment. For our parents, it is a day to take pride in the accomplishments of their child for making it this far. All of the hardships that they faced with us. All of the pain that they had to deal with us… It is all now overshadowed by this one bright and shining moment. For our teachers, it is a day to watch their students' blossom from the small, adolescent fourteen year-olds that we were into the young adults that we are now. For our classmates and friends, it is a day to finally celebrate the fact that we are now no longer students of the compulsory education system. All of us have been through so much. We have put our parents through grief from our failures and disobediences. We have put our teachers through our lateness to class and our public display of affections with our significant others in the halls. We have put our friends through the trials of betrayal, distrust and so-called "drama."

She paused for a second to scan the crowd.

"Classmates, there have been many times when you felt like giving up, and I am no exception. There have been times when we felt that all hope was lost. There have been people who told us that we should just give up, that we were at the end of our line, that we should have just packed it up and went home. We have transcended that feeling of despondency, and our reward? …This one moment."

Zelda brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes.

"Parents, there have been many times when you thought that there was no hope left for us, as much as you hate to admit it. Yes, you are our parents, and yes, you feel that you should not think so negatively about us because of that, but I know that you cannot help it. But your unconditional love for us has helped you overcome that, and your reward? …This one moment."

She looked up, trying to spot her parents in front of her, and she saw them, her mother tearing up, wiping her eyes, and her father, a pensive expression of his face.

"Teachers, there have been many times when you considered giving up on us, and I certainly cannot blame you. I understand that many times, we have sent you on a trip to hell and back, pardon my language. There have been moments when you disapproved of us, thinking that there wasn't any hope left for us. However, you saw the good in us and believed in us, and your reward? …This one moment."

Zelda fought back the urge to cry right then and there.

"I know I'm beginning to sound redundant and that this speech is beginning to sound like a broken record, but I simply cannot stress this enough. The people inside this arena are the lucky ones. There have been many of us kids who _did_ give up and went home. There have been parents who _did_ lose all confidence in their child and succumbed into the feeling of failing as a parent. There have been teachers who _did_ fail to see the promise and potential in their students, and left them by the wayside. It pains me to know that had they just held on just a little bit longer, they would we here with us, celebrating this one moment. We held on to our faith in one another. We struggled deeply, but we prayed that we'd somehow make our dreams come true."

She turned around and glanced at Link, who was beaming widely at her, and turned back to the audience.

"After all of our struggles, after all of the negativity, we are finally rewarded. With what?" She scanned the audience one more time before finishing.

"…This one moment."

The entire arena stood up to their feet, applauding her loudly and lively. She smiled back at them. "Thank you."

METRODOME PARK

"Zelda, I loved your speech!"

Zelda made her way through the unrelenting crowd. She tried to find everyone in the midst of the some ten thousand people around her for the last five minutes, but to no avail. She has been showered with compliments about her speech.

"Good job, Zelda!"

"That speech was awesome!"

She waved politely at them, and continued her quest to find her family. She stumbled out of the crowd, finally at an open area. She looked around and finally saw her family and friends on a grassy knoll, taking pictures of each other.

She picked up the bottom of her white down and ran over to them.

"Mom! Dad! Link!"

The fifteen of them turned to see the young girl running towards them, and she mauled Link, taking him in a tight embrace, almost dropping her diploma in the process.

"I'm so proud of you, Zel," Link breathed into your ear. "I loved your speech as well."

Zelda pulled away slowly. "Thank you."

"Oh, Zellie!" Ambi gushed, pulling the girl away from Link and into her own hug. "Congratulations! I love you so much!"

"I love you, too mom," she whispered choking on her own tears. She pulled away and hugged her dad, telling her he loved him and vice-versa. She went around her relatives and friends, showing off her diploma and taking pictures with everyone in every possible combination.

Zelda approached Link and smiled at him. "I think it's time we told my parents about us," she said.

"Are you sure?" He raised an uncertain eyebrow.

"We've been keeping up this charade for well over six months. We put it off any longer, and it'll only hurt us more."

He nodded slowly and they both walked over to her parents, and he tapped her on their shoulders. 'Mom? Dad?"

They both turned around to face them. "Yes, Zelda?"

"Link and I have something to tell you," she started.

Daphnes and Ambi glance at each other. "Oh?"

"Yes, sir," Link says, turning to Daphnes. "I really don't have a girlfriend. When we went to Lake Hylia together, it was only Zelda and I who went… She and I have been together since December… You know, romantically together."

The two blondes brace themselves for the worst, but all they get is Daphnes and Ambi laughing at each other.

"And you thought they'd never tell us!" Daphnes turns to his wife.

Both Link and Zelda are dumbfounded.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Ambi turns to the two. "We saw you two together from out the window when Link came over for Christmas when he was about to leave. We had a suspicion you two were together. I actually knew about it before that. Remember that talk we had in your room that night, Zel? About the cute boy who was so much older than you were? The second I saw Link, he perfectly fit the bill."

"But… You're not mad?" Zelda raises an eyebrow. "Even though we were student and teacher?"

"Of course it took us by surprise," Daphnes shrugged. "But Link here is a fine, responsible young man, and you two seem to really care about each other. That's good enough for your mother and I. We want you to be happy, Zelda. If that meant falling in love with your teacher, then so be it."

"Just don't get used to it," Ambi adds warningly. "Link is a keeper, Zelda. We don't want you to let him get loose."

Daphnes pats Link on the shoulder, only this time, it wasn't hard. "Take care of her, Link."

The young man is speechless for a second, but then he beams widely. "I sure will, sir."

Her parents walk away to talk with Zelda's aunts and uncles, leaving the two blondes dumbfounded.

"Wow," Link mumbles.

"That was a surprise," Zelda chuckles, pecking him on the lips.

LINK'S HOUSE

It was ten o' clock at night, and Link and Zelda are in his bed after a heated session of making love. While most of Zelda's class was out partying, she preferred this over that by a mile. Her family, Link, the girls and Navi were planning to go out for a celebratory lunch the next day and a party the evening following that afternoon, leaving this intimate moment to the both of them.

"You're no longer my student, Zelda," Link murmurs, sucking softly at her collarbone. "You wanna get married?"

Zelda giggles and runs her hands through his messy hair. "Can I at least finish college first?"

"Whatever you want, my princess… Just don't keep at bay because I won't be waiting very long… I'm old, remember?"

"Give it a rest, Link," she sighs, kissing him of the forehead. "…Link?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"Remember that quiz I took that I failed…" She started.

"Yeah," he murmured, lifting his head to look at her. "Why?"

"Did you by any chance fix it to make me think I failed?"

His eyes widened at that, taken aback by her question. "…Yes."

The young girl giggled and locked lips with him for a quick moment. "I'm glad you did it. We wouldn't have had those tutoring sessions that brought us closer together."

"How'd you find out?"

She smiled up at him. "You did a messy job with erasing my answers. I could still see the outlines."

"Heh-Heh…" Link shook his head. "I couldn't see them. Fancy that."

"What I want to know is…" She traces circles on his naked chest with her index finger. "Why'd you do it?"

He sighed deeply at that, but he winked at her.

"Of course I felt bad about it, but sometimes… A guy will do some crazy things just for a girl."

* * *

Whew! My second complete multi-chaptered story after _Under Glass._ This chapter is one of my favorite efforts my me. 

Thank you to everyone who has been with me 'till the very end of this story. All of the people who favorited this, all the people who reviewed, I appreciate you, I enjoy you, and I love you. Don't forget to review, okay?

Remember to read my current major project, _Signed, Sincerely Me._ And review it! It's a really good read. Also, don't forget about my poem, _Through the Looking Glass._ Review that as well.

I make some references to _Signed, Sincerely Me_ in this chapter. For example, when the camera man tells Zelda her best side is her right side. It comes up in chapter two of _SSM._

Since trying to describe the way a girl is dressed is harder than it is than when you're doing boys- at least for me, I sketched a drawing of how Zelda is dressed for the prom. Now I'm warning you, it isn't very good; I did it in like five minutes. My scanner is acting all stupid, so I had to take a picture of it, so it's pretty had to make out all the small writing I wrote, but the rest is pretty legible. The url is in my profile, okay? In the bulletin board section.

Review, please.

* * *

End time: January 16, 2007; 2:05 AM, PST

* * *


End file.
